Staff

• 2008-2012 DfID: ASEC programme- Ensuring Compliance Increases Trade for Developing Countries
• 2008-2019 Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation: Cassava Adding Value for Africa (C: AVA I/II)
• 2009-2012 EU-ACP: Science and Technology for Enhancing the Contribution of Roots and Tubers to Development in ACP Countries project
• 2010-2014 EU EDES programme- Strengthening Food Safety in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific
• 2011-2015 EU: Gains through Losses of Roots and Tubers (GRATITUDE) project
• 2011-2016 Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation: Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA)
• 2012 DfID: GEMS3 (Growth and Employment in States) programme
• 2013-2018 Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation: Cassava Growth Markets (G-Markets)
• 2018-2021 UN World Food Programme: Various

(1) BSG4PROTEIN: Alternative protein from brewer’s spent grain (EAT IT UP fund supported by Starbucks, PI, 2024); Eat It Up Fund | Hubbub x Starbucks — Meet the winners

(2) BBSRC LUNZ-Hub: Land use for net zero hub (impact of alternative protein on UK land use change, funded by BBSRC and Defra, Co-I, 2023-2026)

(3) PROFILE: Protein RecOvery for Food using Novel Extraction (funded by Innovate UK, Co-PI, 2023-2025; in collaboration with Imperial College and Arborea Ltd.); New project to develop sustainable algal protein with enhanced flavor | PPTI (proteinproductiontechnology.com)

(4) AgriFood4NetZero Network+: Plausible Pathways, Practical and Open Science for Net Zero Agri-food (funded by UKRI, champion for Cellular Agriculture, 2022-2025; CHAMPIONS - AgriFood4NetZeroNetwork+)

(5) IPSUS: Climate Smart Food Innovation Using Plant & Seaweed Proteins from Upcycled Sources (A trans-national consortium consists of 7 universities and 2 industrial partners across 6 countries from 3 continents; funded by ERA-NET SUSFOOD2-FOSC, PI, 2022-2025; Home | IPSUS)

(6) Food Basket LCA: Identifying opportunities for sustainable productivity growth across the UK agri-food chain (Led by Dr Conor Walsh; in collaboration with Rothamsted Research and University of Surrey; funded by DEFRA, Co-I, 2021-2023)

(7) From nutrition to flavour: novel food and food ingredients from microalgae (Led by Dr Sui Yixing; in collaboration with Open University and funded by STFC Food Network+ PoC grant, Co-I, 2022- 2023)

(8) Seaweed Protein Extraction: Scoping novel extraction technologies by addressing poor process inefficiencies (funded by STFC Food Network+, PI, 2021-2022)

(9) Rice Protein: Assess value chain opportunity by upcycling by-products & improving food safety (funded by GCRF Networking Grant in collaboration with HUST Vietnam, UK PI, 2021-2022)

(10) Umami from microalgae: Identification of umami taste markers by optimizing microalgae harvest (Led by Dr Sui Yixing and funded by STFC Food Network+, Co-I, 2020–2021)

(11) REUNION: Science and technology for valorization of onion waste (lead: University of Reading, funded by BBSRC-CTPs, Co-I/Unilever science lead, 2018–2022)

(12) Waste2Taste: Technology for valorization of vegetable waste (lead: Wageningen University, funded by TKI-Agri Food, Netherlands, Co-I/Unilever science lead, 2017–2021)

Current and Recent Research Projects

An enhanced toolkit for Botrytis control in protected cropping | BBSRC PACE Horticulture | PI, £1.1M | 2024 - 2028

Botrytis cinerea is a devastating pathogen of over 1000 plant species and represents the primary postharvest disease of strawberries. Beyond typical fruit rots, recent reports of severe crown-based Botrytis infections highlight an emerging challenge to the industry. An additional threat is presented by the multi-fungicide resistant species Botrytis fragariae, a novel challenge to strawberry production in the EU and USA. Monitoring and control of these three Botrytis diseases is critical, with potential losses up to 80% in the absence of control strategies.

Options for control are limited with tighter legislation on active ingredients for chemical control and due to establishment of fungicide resistance in Botrytis. As such, greater emphasis is required on the use of integrated management strategies combining in-field diagnostics for pathogen surveillance, development of durable disease resistant crops and improved deployment of microbial-biocontrols within protected systems.

Through this project we develop an advanced toolbox for precision monitoring and integrated disease management of Botrytis in protected strawberry. This work is underpinned by the fundamental study of Botrytis host-specificity, genome evolution and genomic exchange.

Understanding microbiome dynamics of crops in controlled light environments | University of Greenwich Vice Chancellor PhD Scholarship | Co-I | 2024-2027

Understanding the true Medicinal value of medicinal mushrooms | Growing Kent and Medway Business Innovation Voucher | PI | 2024-2024

Epidemiology of anthracnose on cashew genotypes and sustainable control strategies in Côte d'Ivoire | RSIF PASET visiting PhD Scholarship | PI | 2024-2024

Striga management using a host-specific fungal pathogen | University of Greenwich, REF funding | PI | 2023-2024

Phenotyping flavour: novel high-throughput assays to assess aroma and bitterness across hop breeding collections | University of Greenwich, HEIF funding | PI | 2023-2024

Distribution characterization of the fungi responsible for post-harvest rots in yams and control with biopesticides in the Cote d’Ivoire | RSIF PASET visiting PhD Scholarship | PI | 2023-2023

Development of in-field tools for early detection of fruit storage rots | BBSRC Horticultural Quality and Food Loss Network | PI | 2022-2023

Breeding better biocontrols – Identifying targets for Clonostachys rosea strain improvement through partitioning genomic regions involved in insect infection from those involved in hyphal parasitism | University of Greenwich REF funding | PI | 2022-2023

Viral diversity and coevolution with Fungal and Oomycete pathogens | University of Greenwich, Vice Chancellor PhD Scholarship | PI | 2021-2024

Developing next generation diagnostics to prevent establishment of fungal pathogens in UK fruit crops | Royal Society of Biology undergraduate studentship | PI | 2021-2021

Dehydration of Viable Probiotic Cells Using Novel Drying Technologies (2021) funded by INSF (Iran National Science Foundation)

Extraction, Emulsification and Encapsulation of Herbal Essential Oils (2020) funded by Shiraz University Postdoctoral Research Award

Modelling and Optimisation of Ultrasound and Infrared Assisted Conductive Hydro Dryer (2019) funded by INSF

Nutritional Postharvest Loss Estimation Methodology for Humanitarian Aid (NUTRI+4AID). Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Action (IMMANA) (PI) Total £250,000. 2 years. (2023-24 – subjected to no-cost extension). Partners: University of Zimbabwe, International Potato Center (Uganda), Mood Technologies. Rationale: No methodological tool exists to measure nutrient loss along food aid food systems.  Aims: Develop a prediction tool and methodology to estimate nutritional postharvest losses on humanitarian value chains. 

Strengthening African Food Systems in the face of climate change and Food insecurity. (SAFFODS) EU-ERANET-funded. (PI of the NRI component - £131,000) 4 years (2021-25). Partners: CIRAD (France), ISRA BAME (Senegal), UNA (Ivory Coast). Rationale: African food systems need to be made more resilient. Aims: to strengthen food systems for fruits & vegetables in Senegal and Ivory Coast in the face of climate change and food insecurity. Results: we have collected data on nutrient changes in mango value chain in Ivory Coast.

OMICS and bioinformatics applied to plant alternative protein formulations to decipher malnutrition (Call 1) & Strengthening food systems in plant-alternative proteins to address infant malnutrition in Africa (Call 2) Universities UK International (UUKi) UK-Israel Mobility Exchange (PI). Call 1: £70,400. 10 months. (2023-24). Call 2 :£92,950. 10 months (2024-25). Partner: HUJI. Collaborators: Peter Akomo international consultant, Anastasios Tsaousis, University of Kent.

Rationale: Acute child malnutrition is a major public health issue i.e. in poor settings in LMICs. We are looking at ways to address it in a sustainable manner by building a sustainable food system and better understanding the mechanisms of malnutrition and its recovery using high-level research tools. Aim: Develop local plant based alternative RUTFs more sustainable for LMICs and understand better the underlying mechanisms of malnutrition, links between diet, growth and bone development, and microbiome. Results: Building on a Innovate UK-KTN- GCRF AgriFood Africa Innovation Awards Round 2, this initiative is used to spearhead a Medical Research Council research proposal submitted in February 2024 and could lead to a scientific breakthrough giving critical insights on how diet could be modulated to optimise microbiome and gut development and address infant malnutrition.

Postgraduate student: MPhil/PhD Laura Utume supervised by Aurelie Bechoff, Dina Nikolaou and Andrew Westby. “Development of ‘safe for the gut’ ready-to-use-therapeutic-food (RUTF) to tackle malnutrition”

Assessing the designs of nutrition interventions to better understand the persistence of malnutrition in the Sahel EU. Nutrition Research Facility (through Agrinatura. (technical expert). 1 year (2023-24)

Rationale: Despite continued investments to improve food and nutrition security in the Sahel, there are high rates of malnutrition (stunting, wasting, and anaemia). Aim: The project examines how better designs of nutritional interventions could lead to improved nutrition and food security.  Results: A scoping review and Key-informants interviews have been conducted bringing coherent insights about proposed design improvements.

A One Health approach to managing rodent pests impacting human health and wellbeing in South African townships: OHRatSA

This (£600,000 project (2025-2028) is jointly funded by UK Medical Research Council and the South African Medical Research Council and aims to understand complex problems caused by rodents in South African townships, particularly the threat of rodent borne infections on human health, nutritional security and mental health and wellbeing. The project will innovate methods of uncovering neglected problems and generate unique information on how current rodent management practices may be exacerbating the rodent problem through negatively impacting personal and community agency and wellbeing.  We will take a One Health ecologically-based approach to resolving rodent pest issues through the evaluation of innovative technologies collaborating with community and public authorities to assess social and environmental efficacy and sustainability.

Our research questions are:

1. What is the impact of rats on food and nutrition security in urban environments? This will focus particularly on the disease threats from urine and faecal contamination within household food stores and leftover cooked food, the promotion of aflatoxins, and nutritive losses from rodents selectively eating the seed germ.
2. What is the impact of rats on mental health and wellbeing in South African townships? We argue impacts on mental health and wellbeing are likely to be severe in African contexts, particularly where social stigmas within communities can lead to reduced personal agency and erosion of social capital. Rodent pest issues can be perceived as something to be ashamed of, where often taboos, community pressure and public perceptions may increase mental health problems amongst the most vulnerable members of a community suffering from rodent pest problems.
3. Can new innovations in ecologically based rodent management be safer and more socially accepted than current reliance on poisons for public and environmental health programmes? We will take advantage of new innovations in rodent fertility control to evaluate stakeholder (public, private sector, local authority) acceptability of rodent contraceptives and how contraceptives may reduce risk of disease transmission when compared to using rodenticides. 

One Health approach to tick-borne disease control through manipulation of reservoir host communities at landscape scale

This (£1,250,000 project (2023-2026) is funded by UK Research and Innovation and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs One Health approach to vector borne diseases programme. The project partners are the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Forest Research, University of York, University of Salford.  The UK's Net Zero 2050 policy contains bold plans to plant millions of trees each year to expand landcover in woodlands and forests, not only helping to sequester carbon but also helping to lower local temperatures as the climate changes. While this is a valid ambition, such changes in land use may have implications for the spread of unwanted non-native species and disease. As such these plans must be evaluated to develop a robust strategy and avoid unintended consequences from our interventions to mitigate climate change and achieve a net zero society. The grey squirrel is an invasive species in the UK, with detrimental impacts on the conservation of the native red squirrel and with bark stripping damage to trees and forests that is estimated to cost the UK economy £37 million per year. Grey squirrels, now distributed through most of Great Britain, are the dominant small mammal in many habitats and important hosts of ticks that feed on them. The ticks that feed on grey squirrels can pick up infections in the squirrel's blood and can transmit these infections to people bitten by infected ticks, notably Lyme disease. The number of people contracting Lyme disease is growing in all parts of the UK, with hotspots in Scotland, the southwest of England and southern England. Efforts to control grey squirrels are under way in many parts of the UK, to help the native red squirrel populations which are under threat by greys. This programme has wide public support and is trying to control grey squirrels humanely using contraceptives. Some experts have argued that the removal of grey squirrels by itself could result in a reduction in Lyme disease risk, but this has not yet been proven. This is because other wild animals can be fed upon by ticks, and it is not clear what will happen when grey squirrels are removed in terms of disease risk.

Our project plans to answer this question by determining what happens when grey squirrel populations are being reduced, and how this affects ticks and diseases. We plan to look at novel ways of controlling or monitoring ticks by determining what attracts and repels them. We also plan to develop predictive models on what would happen as the UK becomes more covered in woodlands and forests in the future where climate is also changing, and what this would mean for grey squirrel populations, and the ticks and diseases they host. Finally we plan to engage with the public, particularly those trying to save the red squirrel, but also the wider public and their attitudes towards squirrels, ticks and infections such as Lyme disease to ensure we understand people's concerns and how best to deal with a changing environment and climate.

Farmer Research Networks for Ecological Pest and Disease Management

This is the fifth project phase of funding ($520,000) (2023-2026) received from the McKnight Foundation, an independent private philanthropic charity established by the McKnight family in the United States to improve the quality of life for present and future generations. See: https://www.ccrp.org/  The foundation has been funding NRI’s collaborative research to develop sustainable pest management options for smallholder farmers since 2009, and this project (2023-2026) builds on 14+ years of previous funding provided by McKnight, providing the continuity to address complex issues related to improving access to high quality ecosystem services for pest management in smallholder crop production. The project involves partners at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology in Tanzania, and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi.

The next step in the development of pesticidal plants has farmer researchers at the core of agro-ecological research where we try to develop landscape level research activities that help improve pest regulation.  This involves increasing botanical diversity to help provide habitat and food for natural enemies and pollinators and increasing the adopting of natural products for pest control so that insect diversity can be maintained.

Developing effective rodent control strategies to reduce disease risk in ecologically and culturally diverse rural landscapes

This £2 million research project (2021-2024) is funded by the UKRI MRC Global Challenge Research Fund on global health.  Besides NRI, the project involves partners from the University of Aberdeen, University of St. Andrews, Pasteur Institute Madagascar, Vahatra Association Madagascar, Sokoine University of Agriculture Tanzania and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences Tanzania. The ultimate aim of the project is to reduce the risk from rodent-borne infections, and improve health and well-being by increasing the capacity to develop rodent-control measures that are applicable, sustainable and resilient given local ecological, epidemiological, agricultural and socio-cultural contexts. The project will focus on rural landscapes in Tanzania and Madagascar, using exemplar case-study host-pathogen systems with contrasting ecological and epidemiological characteristics. We will exploit high quality existing data and conduct new experimental studies, integrating these with state-of-the-art statistical and modelling approaches, as well as ethnographic and social science studies, in order to inform the co-development of effective rodent management strategies with communities and stakeholders. Community co-development and engagement will take place from the start of the project, with community representatives involved in decision making processes, in the implementation and collection of data and interpreting impact.

Future rodent management for pig and poultry health (RodentGate)

This project (2020-2024) is part of a European consortium funded through the ERA-NET International coordination of research on infectious animal diseases https://www.icrad.eu/ The project works across Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom with a total project value of €1,750,000, with UK funding of €500,000 from UKRI BBSRC. The project aims to maintain or improve the health of pigs and poultry with respect to rodent-borne diseases in a situation where rodenticides are no longer accepted as a major tool for rodent management. The specific objectives are 1) to document changes in disease risk for pigs and poultry when classical rodent management around farms is prevented and rodent populations around farms change in abundance or composition and 2) to propose appropriate evidence-based and economically sustainable strategies for the ecologically-based management of rodents and rodent-borne infections around farms.