Global trading: the good, the bad and the essential
April 27, 2020
This post is written by Lucy McCarthy (QUB), Anne Touboulic (University of Nottingham), and Lee Matthews (University of Nottingham). In our last post, we began our journey considering food supply chains in times of pandemic and we touched upon their history. Here, we further consider some of the flaws in our globalised food systems and …
Coronavirus and the food system: a reading list
March 26, 2020
Gardening and growing Growing and gardening while in isolation, by Mark Diacono (Facebook/Telegraph) Land available for allotment use has declined 65% since the 1960s (Institute for Sustainable Food, Sheffield) Food supply chains The UK’s food supply and a call for rational rationing, by Prof Tim Lang (The Conversation) Interview with Tim Lang, by Jay …
Plants for future food security: the case of Bambara groundnut
March 23, 2020
Future Food Beacon researchers in Malaysia and UK are working with partners in Africa and Asia to help secure the future of our food supply. They are doing this by exploring the wider use of crop diversity to fill food production and nutrient gaps, making a diverse range of food crops available and accessible to …
Why should academics participate in public engagement?
April 24, 2019
March was a busy month for Future Food Beacon researchers Dr Sina Fischer and Dr Michael Wilson as they participated in Science in the Park and Family Discovery Day. Here, they recall their experiences, and explain why they participate in these types of public engagement activities. Sina: In March Michael Wilson and I teamed up …
Meet the Beacon: Dr Jonathan Atkinson
April 9, 2019
Jon Atkinson is a Senior Research Fellow and Technologist in Phenomics for the Future Food Beacon. As well as conducting his own research, his role is designed to help other researchers do their research by developing phenotyping equipment and kit. He will be working in the dedicated makerspace that has been developed within the Future Food …
Meet the Beacon: Dr Michael Wilson
March 28, 2019
Michael Wilson is a Senior Research Fellow and Technologist in Bioinformatics for the Future Food Beacon. Michael handles sequencing data, data derived from the DeepSeq facility, and conducts integrative analysis. His role is to support biologists in handling the large amount of data to be produced. Michael is also responsible for the digital requirements of …
Meet the Beacon: Dr Gabriel Castrillo
March 21, 2019
Gabriel Castrillo is a Nottingham Research Fellow in Plant Microbiome, and a member of the Future Food Beacon of Excellence. Gabriel’s research is focused on understanding how plants and microbes interact, in the context of nutrition. He examines how microbes help plants cope with nutritional deficiencies, and how the plant impacts the structure of the …
Meet the Beacon: Dr Michael Pound
March 14, 2019
Michael Pound is a Nottingham Research Fellow in Computer Vision and member of the Future Food Beacon of Excellence. Mike is a computer scientist whose research focuses on the development of novel computer vision techniques. Within the Beacon, he is working with bioscientists to apply these computer vision techniques to plant phenotyping, providing accurate measurement of …
Meet the Beacon: Dr Guillermina Mendiondo
March 6, 2019
Guillermina Mendiondo is a Nottingham Research Fellow in Crop Molecular Genetics, and a member of the Future Food Beacon of Excellence. Guillermina’s research focuses on the impact of environmental stress on plant development, and the role of the N-end rule pathway in targeted proteolysis as a central hub integrating plant responses to abiotic stresses. She …
Meet the Beacon: Dr Sina Fischer
February 21, 2019
Sina Fischer is a Nottingham Research Fellow in Functional Genomics, and a member of the Future Food Beacon. Sina researches Whole Genome Duplication in Arabidopsis thaliana. Her research seeks to understand the genetics behind traits that appear when the whole genome is duplicated. Sina intends to expand her research into rice and barley while an NRF. …
