We are delighted to announce that Professor Charles Godfray, FRS, Hope Professor of Zoology, Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, and Fellow of Jesus College, has been knighted for services to scientific research and for scientific advice to government.
Sir Charles is a world-leading population biologist whose work spans ecology, evolution and epidemiology. His research interests include those insects such as mosquitoes which spread human diseases, how they may be controlled using modern genetic interventions, what the ecological consequences of removing them from the environment may be, and the population genetics and population dynamics involved. Sir Charles is also interested in the interplay of science and policy, especially in the areas of the environment and food security, and how one can simultaneously explore the health, environmental and economic consequences of different food system policies.
With Professor Susan Jebb, he leads the Wellcome Trust's LEAP (Livestock, Environment and People) project to explore the multiple effects of meat, dairy and other 'animal-sourced foods' on food system dynamics, human health, and the environment. In the field of policy, he, with Professor Angela McLean, leads the Restatements project which aims to provide succinct summaries of the scientific evidence around highly contentious topics such as bovine tuberculosis, neonicotinoid insecticides, ecosystem manipulation to control flooding, and low dose effects of ionising radiation.
He is Chair of Defra’s Science Advisory Council, a Trustee Director of Rothamsted Research and a trustee of the Food Foundation, and sits on a number of other scientific advisory committees. His previous roles include Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, President of the British Ecological Society, and Chair of the Lead Expert Group of the UK Government’s Foresight Project on the Future of Food and Farming.
Upon receiving his Honour, Sir Charles said: “I’m really thrilled and know I have lots of people to thank for supporting me, including many colleagues in the Zoology Department.”
