REAP Conference 2026

Professor Anjali Goswami was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser and Director General Science, Data and Analysis at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 1 July 2025.

Anjali is a research leader in evolutionary biology and former Dean of Postgraduate Education at the Natural History Museum, London, an Honorary Professor in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London, and Past President of the Linnean Society of London.

She received her B.Sc. from the University of Michigan in 1998 and her PhD from the University of Chicago 2005, followed by a US National Science Foundation fellowship held at the Natural History Museum and a JRF at King’s College and lectureship in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Her expertise is in vertebrate evolution and development, particularly in the emerging area of evolutionary phenomics. She and her group develop and apply new approaches to capturing the complex three-dimensional shapes of organisms in order to reconstruct the evolution of biodiversity. Her work spans insects to dinosaurs, but her main interest is in the evolution of mammals. To fill key gaps in the palaeontological record, she has searched for fossils from Svalbard to Madagascar, with her primary fieldwork being based in South India.

She is the recipient of the Linnean Society Bicentenary Medal, the Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal, the Hind Rattan Award, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Robert L. Carroll award, the Palaeontological Association President’s Medal, and the Humanists UK Darwin Day Medal. She was elected to the fellowship of the Royal Society of London in 2024.

Helen is Director of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange at LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), a charity supporting the global transition towards more sustainable farming and food. Previously she was Chief Adviser for Science and Innovation at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), leading its policy and advocacy work on science and research, biotechnology and data.

Helen has an academic background in environment and human health, epidemiology and environmental science. Before joining the NFU in 2004, she was a research scientist at Imperial College London, working on probabilistic modelling of dietary exposure to pesticides.  As well as being a non-executive Director of Niab, Helen is chair of the Crop Science Centre Alliance Board; a member of the Farm Data Principles Council; Defra’s Precision Breeding Working Group and of many other groups in the agrifood and research community.

Belinda is driven by the belief that innovation is vital for agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and economic growth.

Starting her career in research, Belinda has worked mainly at the interface between industry, innovation and government, and became determined to bring farmers, researchers and technology developers closer together to improve the efficiency of communication and mutual understanding, and to accelerate the adoption of new innovations on farms.

For the past decade Belinda has led the creation and expansion of the award-winning membership network: Agri-TechE . In 2021 she received the Sir Timothy Colman Prize for “outstanding leadership in the agri-tech sector” and was awarded an OBE in the 2024 Kings’ Birthday Honours List for services to agri-technologies and farming.

Professor Ken Sloan has been the Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University since November 2021.

Previously, Ken was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise and Governance), at Monash University, Melbourne. He was Registrar and Chief Operating Officer at University of Warwick; Business Development Director with SERCO; and Special Advisor to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Education Foundation at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Ken has a MA (Hons) from University of Glasgow and an MBA from the Warwick Business School. He is a CPA, a Fellow of the Association of Higher Education Professionals and remains an Adjunct Professor of Monash University, Australia.

Ken currently serves as the Chair of Guild HE and on the Board of UCEA also chairing Finance and Audit Committee. He sits on the Telford Town Fund Board for Levelling Up and is Chair of the Steering Group for Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Ken Chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group Advisory Board for the West Midlands, is a fellow of Entrepreneurial Leadership and a member of WonkHE’s Post-18 Project.

Marion Regan is CEO of Kent-based, family-owned farming group, comprising Hugh Lowe Farms (berries); L J Betts (leafy salads) and Blaise Plants (plant propagation). They also run a vineyard and an arable business.

Having studied Botany and Horticulture she has enjoyed serving in various industry roles with a particular interest in the environment, research and development. She is a current Director of Dogtooth Technologies Ltd, and former roles include Chairman of Berry Gardens Growers, the UK berry marketing co-operative; Director of the Oxford Farming Conference; Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and of the East Malling Trust for Horticultural Research. She was awarded an MBE for services to the fruit industry in 2014.

A Newcastle University agriculture graduate and Farms Technical Director at Waldersey Farms Ltd, working as part of a skilled team managing farming operations across the Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Fens. The business grows a wide range of combinable, root and energy crops including potatoes, onions, wheat & maize whilst constantly evolving to ensure production is both economically robust and environmentally sustainable.

Kathryn is co-owner and Director of Wright Farm Produce based in Tarleton, near Preston in Lancashire which grows a range of salad crops for the major retailers, processors and market customers.  Farming on a range of differing soil types a large proportion of the land farmed is lowland peat which is gaining a considerable amount of environmental interest.

Over the last few years Kathryn has become involved in a large number of projects with various partners to share experience and gain knowledge that can be used in the future.

Professor Uauy is a geneticist recognised internationally for his significant contribution to the step change in resources and tools available to wheat research and development communities which allow for the rapid identification of genes for key traits required for crop breeding.

Cristóbal’s research programme focuses on using genetics and genomics to improve both yield and quality components in wheat. His lab has developed open-access tools and resources to enhance scientific discovery.

His research has identified important genes for improved yield, quality and disease resistance, overcoming the difficulties associated with the size and complexity of the wheat genome. As a result of these contributions, Cristóbal has been recognised as a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher on multiple occasions.

He is passionate about the future of plant and microbial science and training the next generation of crop scientists and was recognised in 2021 with the Jeanie Borlaug Women in Triticum (WIT) Mentor Award.

Cristóbal studied Agronomy in the Universidad Católica de Chile and holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of California, Davis.

David Coop is Managing Director of Elsoms Seeds Limited. Beginning his career as a research scientist, he has worked across multiple countries, organisations and leadership roles within the plant science sector. David is passionate about the diversity, beauty and utility of plants, and about harnessing innovation and plant breeding to improve crop resilience, sustainability and food security.

Rothamsted Enterprises supports small businesses to start and scale in the world of Agtech. The Rothamsted campus provides access to expertise, scientific kit, office and lab space as well as opportunities to meet other innovative businesses.

In her role as CEO, Nicole is responsible for driving forward the growth and development of the business portfolio on campus and provide the campus community with opportunities to deliver impactful science for society.

In January 2021 Jamie Lockhart took on the role of Managing Director at Frederick Hiam Ltd.

They grow a significant area of Onions, Parsnips and Potatoes.

The sector faces many challenges and labour availability is one of the biggest.

As a business they are looking at ways we can add automation and technology to reduce our reliance on seasonal labour.

They are taking crop from seed to retail sale and there are many opportunities to streamline what we currently do.

Dr Carol Verheecke’s research focuses on applied molecular mycology, food safety, and sustainable food systems at Cranfield University. Her research portfolio centres on understanding and predicting the environmental drivers of mycotoxin contamination, developing innovative detection technologies, and designing sustainable interventions to improve food security and public health. She has an interdisciplinary background spanning molecular biology, microbiology, food safety, and international development, and holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Université de Toulouse (France). She currently is the Course Director for the MSc Future Food Sustainability at Cranfield University.

Dr Jack Grant is a researcher at the University of Lincoln with a background in psychology and a longstanding connection to agriculture through his family farming background. His research focuses on understanding and improving labour productivity in horticulture, combining behavioural science with wearable sensing technologies such as eye tracking and video analysis. Working closely with growers across the UK, Jack’s current research seeks to identify the behaviours and decision-making processes associated with high performance in commercial harvesting environments and translate these findings into practical training approaches that can be applied on farm.

Dr Mojgan Rabiey is an Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick. She develops precision biological solutions to protect high-value crops from bacterial diseases using bacteriophages, naturally occurring viruses that target harmful bacteria.

Her research aims to reduce reliance on conventional antibiotics and chemical treatments, which are increasingly being phased out and subject to tighter regulatory control, by creating safe, environmentally friendly approaches that work with nature rather than against it. She is developing practical phage technologies that can be integrated into existing agricultural systems through seed treatments, spray applications, and novel delivery methods such as pollinator bumblebee-assisted delivery. Mojgan’s work supports more resilient and sustainable crop production.

Jamie is a computational biologist working between the Earlham Institute and Tozer Seeds, applying data science to modern plant breeding. Based in Tozer’s innovation lab, Jamie uses genomics and big data to pinpoint the genes behind key traits, helping speed up the breeding of new vegetable varieties for commercial growers.

He earned his PhD at the University of Warwick through a Waitrose Collaborative Training Partnership, developing computational tools to identify the genes that allow different strains of Fusarium wilt to break through plant defences. With a background at Rothamsted Research and the Eden Project, Jamie now focuses on moving academic research into industry to support British growers.