Viji Sarojini 

Viji Sarojini is a Professor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Viji obtained her PhD in Chemistry through research conducted at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. This was followed by postdoctoral research at Linkoping University, Sweden, University of Leeds, UK and Texas A & M University, USA.  Moving to New Zealand in 2004, she joined Plant and Food Research (one of the Crown Research Institutes in New Zealand) and worked on Bioactive Peptide solutions for bacterial diseases of plants. She joined the University of Auckland in 2006 where she currently leads a research group in fundamental and applied aspects of Peptide Chemistry.

Research undertaken in her lab has uncovered the potential of peptides to serve as human therapeutics, (particularly antimicrobial and anticancer peptide drugs) protect crops, and enhance the sensory qualities of foods. A major emphasis of her research during the past decade has been on the development of antimicrobial peptides to tackle antimicrobial resistance. This has led to novel ways of creating antibacterial surfaces and brush-like structures that last longer, target better and work smarter.