People

Professor Christina Hicks

Director and EDIA Lead

Professor Christina Hicks is a recognised global leader in food systems science, a highly cited interdisciplinary scientist, and a Philip Leverhulme Prize awardee in geography. Her leadership roles in food systems science have included leading the recent EAT Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable and Just food systems, giving many plenary talks at conferences and to philanthropic audiences, and acting as coordinating author for the IPBES report on sustainable use of wild species. As Director for the programme, Christina will oversee the coordination of the programme as a whole; as EDIA Lead, she will work to ensure that all students are treated with fairness and equity and that strong EDI principles are embedded into events to provide a valuable and accessible experience for everyone involved.

Professor Elizabete Carmo-Silva

Theme 1 Lead: Resilient Food Systems

Professor Elizabete Carmo-Silva is an expert on the regulation of carbon assimilation by Rubisco in crop plants, including wheat, cowpea and cassava. She is deputy director of the RIPE project, which aims to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of plants to increase crop yields, and director of the Environment Centre’s postgraduate research programmes. As Theme 1 Lead, Elizabete will oversee aspects of projects that fall into the theme of resilient food systems.

Professor Jess Davies

Theme 2 Lead: Regenerative Food Systems

Professor Jess Davies is a systems ecologist, focused on how land and soil systems can be managed to support sustainable outcomes forfood production, climate mitigation, and water resources, and an expert in cross-sector collaboration. She is co-director of the Centre for Sustainable Soils and leads a global working group on soil health with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. As Theme 2 Lead, Jess will oversee aspects of projects that fall into the theme of regenerative food systems.

Professor Jasmine Fledderjohann

Theme 3 Lead: Reparative Food Systems

Professor Jasmine Fledderjohann is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Principal Investigator on the Food Security for Equitable Futures project. Working on social justice and inequalities, particularly in the area of food security and nutrition, Prof. Fledderjohann brings a breadth of knowledge to reparative action within this field. Much of her current empirical research takes a mixed-methods approach to understanding the measurement and sociocultural correlates of food insecurity in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam, with a particular focus on gender. She has also published conceptual papers and a book on the right to food, exploring interconnections with other human rights, including reproductive rights and housing. As Theme 3 Lead, Jasmine will oversee aspects of projects that fall into the theme of reparative food systems.

Dr Doug Orr

Training Lead

Dr Doug Orr is the associate director of the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation, working with small businesses to improve sustainability outcomes, and an expert in plant biochemistry, crop efficiency and climate resilience. As Training Lead, Doug will ensure that all doctoral candidates receive the training necessary for them to complete their studies, and that student-supervisory teams reflect on and identify training that will benefit students' research and personal development.

Dr Luke Parry

Cohort Building Lead

Dr Luke Parry is a political ecologist with a particular interest in wild food systems, health inequities, and human-environment interactions. As Cohort Building Lead, Luke will help to foster a community both within and across the different doctoral cohorts in the Food for Nature and Society Doctoral Programme, creating a team culture of collaboration in which effective research practice and academic knowledge are freely shared.

Professor Nick Graham

Postdoc Transition Lead

Professor Nick Graham is a highly cited researcher and winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize in biological sciences. He is an expert in small-scale fisheries and how they interact with climate disturbance and societal drivers. As Postdoc Transition Lead, Nick will coordinate students as they complete their studies and ensure that they are equipped with the skills to pursue postdoctoral research.

Professor Jan Bebbington

Impact and Engagement Lead

Professor Jan Bebbington is the Director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, with a background in accounting studies. She also has a track record in working with natural scientists to address issues that arise at the nature-corporate interface. As Impact and Engagement Lead, Jan will utilise her wealth of experience working in policy, industry, and community engagement to equip students to deliver impact through their research and engage with a wide variety of actors.