CSO, co-founder of GrowBioM

In Brief

Heribert Hirt obtained his D.Sc in 1987 at the University of Vienna. In 2001, he received the Wittgenstein Prize, Austria’s highest distinction for scientific achievements. Hirt helped found the Gregor-Mendel Institute and became its Vice-Director. Later, he was President of the Austrian Society of Genetics, Head of the Department of Plant Molecular Biology at Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Director of the URGV Plant Genomics Institute, and Director of the Center for Desert Agriculture at KAUST. From 2010-2013, he was President of the European Plant Science Organisation. Hirt is the Research Director at INRAe and functions as an expert for various organizations such as the NSF, the ERC, the DFG, and the Austrian Ministry of Science. PlantACT! – How to tackle the climate crisis. He is leading the Research on GROWBIOM as CSO.

Expertise

• Plant molecular biology
• Plant Signaling transduction
• Plant microbial interaction
• Carbon sequestration

Ecosystem conservation

Main Area of Activity

For thirty years, Hirt has studied how plants can adapt to abiotic or biotic stress conditions. At KAUST, he launched the Darwin21 project to bioprospect various hot deserts for beneficial microbes that can ultimately enhance plant survival and growth on hyperarid lands by increasing heat, drought, and salt resistance. Hirt hypothesizes that with a better understanding of desertification and the Plant-Soil-Biome ecosystem, it is possible to revert hyperarid lands into functional ecosystems. His key research area is the study of desert soil, plants, and microbes and their use in establishing natural sustainable systems in land restoration, landscaping, and agriculture, without relying on chemicals or pesticides.