Dr. Jose Barrero Sanchez

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)

Jose is a research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia where he leads the Legume Engineering Team. The team led the work developing the world’s first GM cowpea, with in-built protection against insects for the USAID Pod-Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea project. For that work, his team was awarded the 2023 CSIRO Chair’s Medal for Science and Engineering Excellence. The PBR cowpea is now available in Nigeria and Ghana, bringing food security for smallholder farmers in West Africa.  

Dr Barrero received his Bachelor in Environmental and Marine Biology from the University of Alicante, Spain and completed his PhD in Plant Genetics from the Miguel Hernandez University, Spain. At CSIRO he has worked on a variety of crops including wheat, barley, canola and cowpea.