Going green: Life Scientist of the Year

As Isaac Asimov once remarked: “the most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka’ but ‘That’s funny...’.

And it was precisely such fortuitous serendipity that led Associate Professor Min Chen to discover a new type of chlorophyll, the first to be uncovered for over six decades.

In light of her discovery (excuse the pun), Associate Professor Min Chen has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year at a ceremony in Canberra today.

Chlorophyll is the remarkable molecule that sits at the heart of photosynthesis, enabling plants, algae and cyanobacteria to absorb light from the sun and use it to turn carbon dioxide into carbohydrates.

The pigment is renowned for its green colour, which is due to its propensity to absorb light mainly in the blue and red ends of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The chlorophyll discovered by Chen – chlorophyll f – has a slightly different light absorption profile, with it able to absorb photons deep in the red end of the spectrum, even beyond the limits of visible light.

Chen was actually looking for chlorophyll d in samples of stromatolites from Western Australia, which are structures constructed by cyanobacteria, and in the process stumbled across something unexpected.

“We didn’t set out to try to find a new molecule,” Chen told ALS. “We were looking for chlorophyll d, and I did find some in the stromatolites. But during the pigment analysis we noticed something new.”

At this stage Chen was cautious about whether it was a novel molecule, so she ran more experiments, honing in on its spectra and the structure of the molecule. She also consulted with as many experts in the field as she could and poured over the existing literature.

Soon enough it was clear: this was a new chlorophyll molecule that had never been seen before. “That was very exciting. That was a big moment.”

Chen published her momentous discovery in Science in August last year.

Chlorophyll f is an unusual member of its molecular family, with it able to absorb infra red light down to a wavelength of 720nm, and still extract energy from these sluggish photons.

Although this makes sense when you consider where it’s found: deep inside the stromatolites, where very little light would reach.

It’s hoped understanding the new chlorophyll molecule might shed light (excuse the pun) on how photovoltaic panels can be made more efficient by absorbing light from a wider spectrum.

Chen was born in China and studied her undergraduate and Masters in plant physiology there, then spent four years in Germany working as a research assistant in a lab. She then moved to Australia in 1998 with her husband, and took on a role in Tony Larkum’s lab at the University of Sydney.

Being declared Life Scientist of the Year is a major accolade. “I’m surprised and very pleased. This award means a lot for me,” she said.

“It means the research field that I’m working on is seen as a very important field. It also means my research activity has been recognised by other scientists in Australia. That’s very important for me, especially as a young scientist.”

The Prize was awarded tonight in a ceremony in Canberra, with each recipient of the various prized receiving a gold medallion, a lapel pin and a cash prize of $300,000.

Australian Life Scientist would like to congratulate Associate Professor Min Chen and the other recipients of the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science.