Russell Molyneux is a research chemist with B.Sc. (Chemistry) and Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry) degrees from the University of Nottingham (UK), and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as well as the awardee of a McMaster Fellowship by the CSIRO (Australia).  Prior to joining the Western Regional Research Center as a career employee, Dr. Molyneux held appointments at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, and was a consultant for the U.S. Brewers Association.  His major research interests are the chemistry of a wide variety of natural products, particularly alkaloids, phenolics, quinones, and terpenoids.  Dr. Molyneux is internationally recognized for his research on the chemistry of poisonous plants, particularly those causing hepatotoxicity and abortion, and those giving rise to the classic “loco” disease and its associated syndromes.  The latter investigations resulted in the development of the novel field of bicyclic polyhydroxy alkaloid glycosidase inhibitors, the majority of which he has isolated and identified.  This cooperative research with the ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory at Logan, Utah has led to more than 200 collaborative publications between the two locations.  As a result of his expertise in the isolation and structural elucidation of bioactive natural products, Dr. Molyneux assumed leadership in 1995 of a project designed to control and prevent formation of aflatoxins in tree nuts through identification of natural phytochemical resistance factors.  Research has also been undertaken to investigate metabolites of the fungus Eutypa lata which induce dying arm disease in grapes under a Trust Agreement with the American Vineyard Foundation. In further recognition of his contributions to natural products chemistry, Dr. Molyneux received the 2006 Kenneth A. Spencer Award.

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