Current Projects (2024 Cohort)
Our FoodBioSystems DTP 2024 cohort of researchers are working on 30 projects that span the food system from farm to fork. Find out more about the projects in the table below.
| Research area | Project title | Lead Supervisor | Co-Supervisor / University | Doctoral Researcher |
| Aberystwyth University | ||||
| Alternative Food Systems | Crop protection: protecting farmed insects from pathogens using predatory bacteria | David Whitworth | Katerina Theodoridou, Queen’s University Belfast | Stephen Akemu |
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | Cows, cannabinoids and terpenes; screening hemp-derived compounds for anti-inflammatory properties to tackle inflammatory disorders of the dairy cow | Debbie Nash | Kirsty Kliem, University of Reading | Claire Bailey |
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | The importance of sleep: using AI (video-based motion capture systems) to improve the health, resilience and productivity of dairy cows | Sebastian McBride | Matthew Parker, University of Surrey | Jacky Kuo |
| Food security | Walk on the Wild Side: improving trait introgression from crop wild relatives | Andrew Lloyd | Fady Moareb, Cranfield University | William Sweet-Jones |
| Plant / crop systems | Harnessing cell permeable peptides to enhance crop development and biochemistry | Huw Jones | Luke Bell, University of Reading | Daniel Fenton |
| Brunel University | ||||
| Food Safety (microbial) | Repurposing artificial sweeteners as infection and contamination control agents | Ronan McCarthy | Brendan Gilmore, Queen’s University Belfast | Ciaram Staber |
| Cranfield University | ||||
| Decarbonising food systems | Enhancing Sustainability Assessment Frameworks for Regenerative Agriculture: Integrating Ecological, Social, and Economic Indicators for Comprehensive Analysis | Michelle Cain | Laurence Smith, University of Reading | Lisa Arguile |
| Food Safety (microbial) | Decipher spatial colonisation and pathogenesis of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae on onions by assessing associated physical and biochemical changes to decrease food loss | Lembe Magwaza | Luke Bell, University of Reading | Kirsty Turner |
| Food Safety (microbial) | Development of novel tests to evaluate the food safety risk associated with mycotoxigenic fungi in wheat | Carol Verheecke-Vaessen | Katrina Campbell, Queen’s University Belfast | Kavitha Vijeandran |
| Food Security | Advanced gene editing to improve water use efficiency in crops | Andrew Thompson | John Doonan, Aberystwyth University | Luca Ciao |
| Plant / crop systems | Seed microbiome engineering: a route to sustainable agriculture | Sofia Kourmpetli | Faisal Rezwan, Aberystwyth University | Alexander Kanacheri |
| Queen’s University Belfast | ||||
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | Blood and guts: functional genomics to probe blood-feeding in liver fluke | Mark Robinson | Gabriel Rinaldi, Aberystwyth University | Aoife Kelly |
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | A novel Bayesian methodology to estimate unobserved traits of cattle for AI-assisted precision feeding | Ilias Kyriazakis | Georgios Pexas, Cranfield University | Meenu Mohan Suma |
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | Pioneering Progress: Insights into Effective Animal Welfare Interventions | Grace Carroll | Kate Johnson, University of Reading | Beth McKeague |
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | The role of precision technologies in future grazing systems: Implications for animal welfare, performance and farm sustainability | Gareth Arnott | Sokratis Stergiadis, University of Reading | Grainne O’Doherty |
| University of Reading | ||||
| Decarbonising food systems | Towards net-zero chocolate: carbon and nutrient budgets for compost use on cocoa farms | Tom Sizmur | Ruben Sakrabani, Cranfield University | Isaac Afram |
| Food Safety (microbial) | Development of novel, biodegradable, active food packaging | Dimitris Charalampopoulos, | Natalia Falagan, Cranfield University | Emily Price |
| Food security | Increasing the value of silvoarable agroforestry using understory crops in the tree rows | Simon Potts | Paul Burgess, Cranfield University | Leila Nicholson |
| Gut Microbiota | A probiotic approach targeting the microbiota to improve Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms and associated low mood | Gemma Walton | Kathrin Cohen Kadosh, University of Surrey | Sanjit Uppal |
| Gut Microbiota | Interactions between the gut microbiota, vitamin D and bone health: assessing dietary driven approaches to support healthy ageing | Anisha Wijeyesekera | Susan Lanham-New, University of Surrey | Allisha Beckett |
| Nutrition (human) | IEat: Integrating eating behaviour and food choice behaviour into sustainable habits for healthy children | Lisa Methven | Jayne Woodside, Queen’s University Belfast | Ekambir Sahota |
| Nutrition (human) | UMTaste: Understanding the mechanisms by which umami taste influences salty and bitter taste to enable umami to drive salt reduction and improvement in meat alternative protein foods | Maria Jose Oruna- Concha | Jessica Adams, Aberystwyth University | Yulianna Holowaty |
| Plant / crop systems | Editing out insecticide use: Use of gene editing Eruca sativa for more effective biofumigation | Martin Chadwick | Huw Jones, Aberystwyth University | Javier Mesa |
| University of Surrey | ||||
| Animal health and livestock agricultural systems | Investigating the gut parasite Eimeria in UK sheep: parasite species diversity and impacts on the gut microbiome | Martha Betson | Justin Pachebat, Aberystwyth University | Stanislav Hodeček |
| Consumer focused projects | Packaging, date labelling and nutritional quality – can less equal more? | Kathryn Hart | Kenisha Garnett, Cranfield University | Starting April 2025 |
| Food Safety (other) | Optimising the safety and nutritional quality of insect protein ingredients | Clare Mills | Katrina Campbell, Queen’s University Belfast | Laurie Stevenson |
| Food security | Modelling the impact of diseases on pollinator networks | Gianni Lo Iacono | Michael Garratt, University of Reading | Starting April 2025 |
| Nutrition (human) | Improving iodine intake in adults following a plant-based diet – a mixed methods study | Sarah Bath | Jayne Woodside, Queen’s University Belfast | Jhama Malla |
| Nutrition (human) | Plant-based diets for older people in care homes: a realist and psychobiological evaluation | Victoria Tischler | Lisa Methven, University of Reading | Saffron Whyton |
| Plant / crop systems | Innovative encapsulation approaches for seed protection and longevity | Suzie Hingley-Wilson | Linda Oyama, Queen’s University Belfast | Lena Fatelnig |