Research interests
Professor Guy Poppy took up his role as the FSA's Chief Scientific Adviser in August 2014. For more than 30 years he has researched global food security and is currently a Professor at the University of Southampton. Prior to becoming a CSA, he directed the Interdisciplinary Research Strategy across 11 research themes and 4 institutes and reported directly to the Vice President and University Executive Committee.
Professor Poppy has significant research experience in food system research and has advised governments around the world. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed papers including a number of highly cited articles contributing to an H index of 50 and over 8500 citations. He is currently a member of the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) panel assessing the quality of agriculture, food and veterinary science in the UK, having previously served on REF2014 panel.
A graduate of Imperial College and Oxford University, Professor Poppy previously worked at Rothamsted Research for 10 years where he undertook pioneering work on the environmental risks of GM crops leading to a lifelong interest of working at the Science/Policy interface. He left in 2001 to join the University of Southampton where he has been Head of Biological Sciences, where he managed an annual budget of £14 million, more than 1500 staff and students and led the School into a new £45 million Life Sciences building in 2010, whilst improving REF performance in particular impact.
As the FSA's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Poppy provides expert scientific advice to the UK government and plays a critical role in helping to understand how scientific developments will shape the work of the FSA as well as the strategic implications of any possible changes. His series of CSA reports have reached a very wide audience and have had impact on issues ranging from AMR to Big data and Whole Genome Sequencing through to the food hygiene rating scheme (FHRS). He has focused on connecting science to those using it and has pushed for scientists to be intelligent providers to intelligent customers of science within the FSA and beyond. He is the UK's representative on European Cost Action Programme. He is in active member of the CSA circle in Government as well as being one of six members of the smaller strategic group of CSA's led by Sir Patrick Vallance, which helps set the agenda for CSA's in Government in order to ensure the CSA's have wider impact across Government.
Research group
Ecology and Evolution
Affiliate research groups
Plants and Food Security ,
Institute for Life Sciences (IfLS)
Research project(s)
Multitrophic interactions - inducted plant resistance and plant S.O.S. signalling
The importance of considering interactions from a multitrophic perspective has become increasingly realised in the last decade. The majority of research in this area has been focussed on crop plants, insect pest herbivores and predators/parasitoids.
Environmental impact of transgenic (GM) plants
This is a very exciting area of research which is of great scientific and political importance. It illustrates how adopting both proximate and adaptive approaches to science provides dividends.
ASSETS: Attaining sustainable services from ecosystems
Rapid assessment of biodiversity and biogeochemical processing across tropical land-use gradients
This project aims to understand how anthropogenic disturbance can alter the interactions between the flora, fauna and abiotic environment that form an ecosystem.
An ecosystem service approach to quantifying the role of freshwater biodiversity in supporting food security
Quantifying linkages between livelihoods, freshwater biodiversity, and drivers of food security and other ecosystem services.
The research examined the potential for development of anaerobic digestion (AD) on farms, and the contribution that this could make to rural development and diversification of agricultural practice by enhanced land use planning for bioenergy production. The research is set in the context of a rapidly developing European agenda aimed at both strengthening the rural economy and protecting the environment.
Evaluation of Management and Monitoring of Freshwater Systems in Oil Palm Plantations
Develop a stakeholder engagement strategy to generate policy relevant scenarios for rice agricultural systems in relation to (a) future water, nutrient and sediment supply; (b) delta-scale adaptations to agricultural practice, and; (c) local-scale adaptations to water and flood management practice.
Development of workshop based socio-ecological and livelihood based scenario strategies in the agricultural sector of the developing South
Professor Guy M Poppy
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences
Life Sciences Building 85
University of Southampton
Highfield Campus
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
Room Number :
85/3009
