Dr. Chris Cazzonelli is a Senior Lecturer in Plant Molecular Biology at Western Sydney University. He completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours Class I) at the University of Queensland and won an Australian Postgraduate Award to study mechanical stress gene regulation receiving a PhD in plant genetic engineering from the University of Queensland in 2002. He subsequently won a prestigious UDSA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate the molecular nature of gene activation, gene silencing and plant stress signalling events in plants. In 2006, Dr. Cazzonelli was recruited by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the Australian National University to investigate what regulates the production of health promoting carotenoid metabolites. He was awarded the prestigious Goldacre Medal by the Australian Society of Plant Biologists in 2010. He leads the Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory to understand molecular mechanisms programming plant acclimation and metabolic homeostasis in response to changing environments (e.g., light quality, mechanical stress, acoustic vibrations and heatwaves). We link epigenetic memory forming processes to carotenoid regulation and other nutritional plant metabolites; that will have follow-on benefits for human and animal health. We advance knowledge and innovation in protected cropping, pollination, tree genomics and horticulture crop nutrition to facilitate environmental sustainability.