Kirsty McInnes

Crop Health Specialist  | UK AgriTech Centre

My preferred location(s)

  • North East
  • Scotland

My background

  • Academia
  • Industry

My field of interest and expertise

  • Crop production

I am interested in working with other members on

Crop protection, primarily use of holistic integrated pest management strategies. Improving crop health to increase productivity and decrease pressure, whilst safeguarding dynamic ecosystems.

About me

I am a plant and invertebrate molecular biologist with expertise studying plant-pest interactions. I have experience working collaboratively in multi-actor projects concerning crop health and broader landscape management in agri-systems, and enjoy connecting with people from different backgrounds who are up for a blether holistic land management and slugs!

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Alison Sheffield

Joint Wales Manager | Social Farms & Gardens

My preferred location(s)

  • Wales
  • West Midlands

My background

  • Third sector

My field of interest and expertise

  • Consumers and diets
  • Land strategy and sequestration
  • Processing and manufacturing
  • Supply chains, retail and hospitality

I am interested in working with other members on

Practical projects working with people and communities to build resilience so that everyone can enjoy a healthy affordable diet that doesn't cost the earth.

About me

Working with SF&G to help communities to farm, garden and grow together for nearly a decade. Managing pan-Wales partnership projects since 2021. Personally passionate about food - growing, cooking and eating. Juggler of many roles! Quick to pick up new concepts, solutions focused and enthusiastic.

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Sarah Pullen

Food System Lead | Birmingham City Council

My preferred location(s)

  • West Midlands

My background

  • Government or policy

My field of interest and expertise

  • AI, robotics, machinery and data science
  • Biodiversity, ecology, conservation
  • Consumers and diets
  • Food security and trade
  • GHG measurement, accounting and markets
  • Infrastructure and logistics
  • Land strategy and sequestration
  • Livestock farming
  • Policy and economics
  • Power, inequality and just transition
  • Processing and manufacturing
  • Supply chains, retail and hospitality
  • Systems thinking and modelling
  • Waste, energy and circular systems
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Xiaofeng Zheng

Assistant professor | University Of Nottingham

My preferred location(s)

  • East Midlands

My background

  • Academia

My field of interest and expertise

  • AI, robotics, machinery and data science
  • Food security and trade
  • Systems thinking and modelling
  • Waste, energy and circular systems

I am interested in working with other members on

Creating more controllable growing environment at low energy cost, such as, low carbon greenhouse

About me

Dr. Zheng obtained his PhD from the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Nottingham. He then continued to work at UoN for over 7 years on a number of research projects funded by UK and EU funding bodies. They are mainly related to building energy retrofitting, research and development of the low-pressure Pulse technique for measuring building airtightness, its application in high-integrity enclosures, non-residential and Passivhaus standard buildings. He also worked at Leeds Beckett University as a lecturer in Building Services Engineering for an academic year, delivering lectures on Mechanical Services, Low Carbon Buildings & Renewables, Building Services Systems, Thermofluids and Major Design Project. He has a diverse engineering background, from HVAC and fire detection on trains that run at high-plateau and high speed, to bionic engineering, thermoelectric applications, building physics, energy efficiency, ventilation and airtightness. He has published over 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 20 articles in International Conferences. One successful spin-off has been created from the research that he has been closely involved with, which entails the novel Pulse technique, a UK building regulation approved method for measuring building airtightness (The Future Homes Standard). He is passionate about research related to creating suitable indoor growing environment for enhanced food production at low energy cost.

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Lynn Frewer

Professor, Food and Society  | Newcastle University

My preferred location(s)

  • North East

My background

  • Academia

My field of interest and expertise

  • Biodiversity, ecology, conservation
  • Consumers and diets
  • Food security and trade
  • Power, inequality and just transition
  • Systems thinking and modelling

I am interested in working with other members on

Inter- and trans- diciplinary reserch into food systems at different sclaes

About me

I am a social scientist who loves to work in inter- and trans- disciplinary projects in the agrifood sector. Recent projects have, for example, included the following issues: • Developing transdisciplinary research into agri-food systems, including interactions between the social sciences and the biological, environmental, engineering and the arts and humanities. • Understanding the societal drivers and impacts of agrifood systems on the environment and climate change • Understanding social drivers of pro environmental decisions and behaviors • Understanding how to facilitate and accelerate farmer, stakeholder and end-user adoption of emerging agrifood technologies and innovations (in the UK, resource rich and LMICs). • Developing qualitative, quantitative, and digital methodologies to understand attitudes and behaviors related to agrifood and climate security, including co-production methodologies. • Operationalizing scientific foresight regarding research agenda setting, policy and governance

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Neil Ward

Co-lead for AFN, Professor of Rural & Regional Development | University of East Anglia

My preferred location(s)

  • East Midlands
  • East of England
  • International
  • London
  • North East
  • North West
  • Northern Ireland
  • Scotland
  • South East
  • South West
  • Wales
  • West Midlands
  • Yorkshire and the Humber

My background

  • Academia

My field of interest and expertise

  • GHG measurement, accounting and markets
  • Land strategy and sequestration
  • Livestock farming
  • Policy and economics
  • Systems thinking and modelling

I am interested in working with other members on

Net zero governance; national emissions accounting; livestock farming; land strategy

About me

I am based at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. I am a co-lead of the AFN Network+. I am a human geographer by training. I am author of "Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System" (2023, Routledge).

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Katy Tapper

Professor | City St George's, University of London

My preferred location(s)

  • London

My background

  • Academia

My field of interest and expertise

  • Consumers and diets
  • Systems thinking and modelling

I am interested in working with other members on

Behaviour change, particularly in relation to food choice and food waste.

About me

I have a background in psychology and am interested in behaviour change for population and planetary health, particularly in relation to food choice and eating. My experimental research aims to identify and understand the variables that influence behaviour. This helps inform my applied work that focuses on the development and evaluation of behaviour change interventions for both adults and children.

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Henry Russell

Founder | Russell Regen Limited

My preferred location(s)

  • East Midlands
  • North East
  • North West
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • West Midlands

My background

  • Academia
  • Industry
  • Third sector

My field of interest and expertise

  • Biodiversity, ecology, conservation
  • Consumers and diets
  • Land strategy and sequestration
  • Livestock farming

I am interested in working with other members on

I am open to partner with any organisation or individual that shares my vision for a truly regenerative food system future and to work on projects that contribute meaningfully to this objective.

About me

I founded Russell Regen in November 2023 following 15 years in the agricultural supply, academic and charity sectors with a purpose to accelerate the transition to a truly regenerative food system. This focuses on regeneration of the whole food chain, with farmers enjoying a good quality of life and purpose in their work; Nature displaying flourishing ecosystems and a reversal of its degradation; and Society offered nutrient dense-food and a reconnection with food growers. My experience and therefore service offering is broad including on-farm support through the Holistic Management framework, carbon footprinting, project management, data analysis and group facilitation.

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Cynthia Naydani

Teaching Fellow in Planetary Health and One Health | University of Edinburgh, Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems

My preferred location(s)

  • Scotland

My background

  • Academia

My field of interest and expertise

  • AI, robotics, machinery and data science
  • Consumers and diets

I am interested in working with other members on

My current research is rooted in understanding how to best support farmers in food systems transitions towards food systems that are environmentally sustainable, uphold animal welfare, and support farmers' own wellbeing while ensuring global food security and nutrition. I would be keen to hear from others working in this space, or interested in hearing more about our own research.

About me

I am an ecologist turned animal welfare scientist with a fondness for data science and a passion for making information accessible to those who can use it to better the lives of their animals, and subsequently their own. My experience in both academia and industry is extensive and varied, ranging from living in the Belizean jungle, studying the behavioural ecology of wild monkeys, to owning a SCUBA diving school in Thailand. I combine inspiration from my international experiences with knowledge gleaned from my interests in pedagogy and human behaviour change to design and deliver educational experiences that are accessible, engaging, and empowering. My current research interests are broad, though consistently rooted in the interconnection of animals (human and non-human), with each other and to our planet. I aim to explore innovative solutions towards the improvement of animal welfare and planetary health, while inspiring future generations to overcome the challenges they inherit.

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Mark Leinemann

CoFounder & President  | Crowdfoods Association for innovators & Startups in food, agriculture, gastronomy & food trade in DACHtrade

My preferred location(s)

  • International

My background

  • Other

My field of interest and expertise

  • AI, robotics, machinery and data science
  • Biodiversity, ecology, conservation
  • Consumers and diets
  • Crop production
  • Food security and trade
  • GHG measurement, accounting and markets
  • Infrastructure and logistics
  • Land strategy and sequestration
  • Livestock farming
  • Policy and economics
  • Power, inequality and just transition
  • Processing and manufacturing
  • Supply chains, retail and hospitality
  • Systems thinking and modelling
  • Waste, energy and circular systems

I am interested in working with other members on

How to Transform the agrifood system fast concerning Mitigation and Adaption to climate change

About me

CoFounder and President of the NGO / NPO crowdfoods, Food marketing and word of mouth expert

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Natasha Gjorevska

Senior Lecturer | University of Portsmouth

My preferred location(s)

  • London
  • South East
  • South West

My background

  • Academia

My field of interest and expertise

  • Consumers and diets
  • Food security and trade
  • Policy and economics
  • Power, inequality and just transition
  • Supply chains, retail and hospitality

I am interested in working with other members on

I am interested in collaborating with colleagues from academia, institutional actors and members from third sector organisations on research projects about social change through alternative food organising.

About me

PhD in Organisation Studies; Research interests in the intersection between alternative organising, values, well-being and food organising; Subject expertise in leadership and sustainability, value-based organising, well-being and social enterprises; Methodological expertise in qualitative methodologies such as qualitative interviewing and qualitative data analysis, including creative methodologies such as visual data collection and analysis, and story completion methods.

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Chris Eccles

Technical Lead | NARA Climate

My preferred location(s)

  • International

My background

  • Industry

My field of interest and expertise

  • Biodiversity, ecology, conservation
  • Crop production
  • Food security and trade
  • GHG measurement, accounting and markets
  • Land strategy and sequestration
  • Livestock farming
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