Rate My Professor Rob Day

Dr Rob Day is a Research Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago. He obtained an MPhil in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Bath and relocated to Otago in 2004 to pursue his PhD under Professor Richard Macknight in the Department of Biochemistry, completing it in 2008. During his doctoral research, he pioneered the use of laser dissection microscopy in plants. Since graduation, Day has been a pivotal figure in the department's research infrastructure, serving as the foremost expert on RNA-seq, next-generation sequencing, and bespoke sequencing workflows. He has collaborated with nine principal investigators in Biochemistry and researchers across the School of Biomedical Sciences, including those at the Christchurch and Wellington campuses. Currently, he acts as Operations Manager for the Otago Genomics Facility, chairs the Otago Genomics User Group, and sits on the Executive Committee of the Australasian Genomics Technology Association.

Day's academic interests encompass agricultural science, developmental biology, cancer biology, genomics, and technology development. He develops specialized genetic and genomics tools for applications in agriculture, developmental biology, and medicine, including methods to analyze minute biological samples for studying imprinted genes in plant seed development. His recent work employs Illumina MiSeq sequencing for sequence-based diagnostics from single cells and circulating tumor DNA. As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Beck Lab, he serves as an associate investigator on a Marsden-funded tadpole microbiome study and co-received an MBIE Smart Ideas Grant in 2021 with Dr Augustine Chen. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Research Support Distinguished Contribution prize by the School of Biomedical Sciences in 2020. Notable publications include Moloney-Geany, K. et al. (2025) 'A set cover algorithm identifies minimal circulating tumour DNA sequencing targets for colorectal cancer detection' in Scientific Reports; Chapman, P.A. et al. (2025) 'Commensal skin bacteria interact with the innate immune system to promote tail regeneration in Xenopus laevis tadpoles' in Developmental Dynamics; and highly cited papers such as 'Fungal endophyte infection of ryegrass reprograms host metabolism and alters development' (New Phytologist, 2015), 'Transcriptome analysis of proliferating Arabidopsis endosperm reveals biological implications for the control of syncytial division, cytokinin signaling, and gene expression regulation' (Plant Physiology, 2008), and 'Be more specific! Laser-assisted microdissection of plant cells' (Trends in Plant Science, 2005).