About ACRE

ACRE membership

This page gives details of current ACRE members.

Professor Christopher Pollock CBE (Chairman)

Expertise: Plant physiology, biochemistry and plant breeding

Professor Pollock is the Chief Scientific Advisor to the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government and was, until his retirement in 2007, Research Director at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research. His research interests include plant primary metabolism and response to environmental stress. He is an Honorary Professor at Aberystwyth University and is involved in a number of activities relating to agricultural research and policy. He is also chair of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise Sub-panel for Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science. Reappointed to ACRE and appointed as chairman for 3 years from 1 September 2003. He has been reappointed as chairman for a further 3-year term with effect from 1 September 2006.

Professor Jules Pretty OBE (Deputy Chairman)

University of Essex
Expertise: Sustainable agriculture and rural development

Professor Pretty is Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Essex. He is an expert on sustainable agricultural systems and farming practice in both developing and industrialised countries. He is an advisor to various international agricultural programmes for governments and UN agencies and was appointed A D White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University for 2001-2007. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Biology and the Royal Society of Arts. Prof Pretty received an international award from the Indian Ecological Society in 1997 and was runner up for the 2002 European Sicco-Mansholt prize. Reappointed to ACRE for 3 years from 1 September 2003. He has been reappointed for a further term from 1 September 2006 to 17 June 2009.

Professor Mark Bailey

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Oxford
Expertise: Molecular biology and microbial ecology

Professor Bailey is Science Director for Biodiversity at the National Environmental Research Council (NERC), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. He has been an adviser for NERC, Health and Safety Executive and the former Department of the Environment (DoE) as well as working for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. His research interests include bacterial genetics, microbial ecosystem function and, in particular, the role of the horizontal gene pool in bacterial adaptation and evolution. Reappointed to ACRE for 3 years from 1 September 2003. He has been reappointed for a further term from 1 September 2006 to 17 June 2009.

Professor Jeff Bale

School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham
Expertise: Entomology, plant biology, ecology and statistics

Professor Bale is Professor of Environmental Biology in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham. He has expertise in insect biology, ecology and pest management, including the development of risk assessment protocols for the use of non-native species in biological control. Prof. Bale is leader of the Organismal and Environmental Biology Research Group at the University of Birmingham, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Council, and sat on the British Ecological Society Council. He is a member of the editorial board of the Bulletin of Entomological Research, the Journal of Insect of Insect Physiology and Physiological Entomology, and the NERC Peer Review College. First appointed to ACRE for 3 years from 18 August 2002 and reappointed for a further 3 years from 18 August 2005.He has been reappointed for a further 4 years from 18 August 2008 until 17 August 2012.

Dr Michael Bonsall

Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
Expertise: Entomology, evolutionary ecology, ecology and mathematical biology

Mr Edward Cross

Farmer, Abbey Farm, Norfolk.
Expertise: Farming practice, agronomy and sustainable agriculture

Mr Cross currently jointly manages a substantial farming concern in the east of England. He has a strong commitment to farming and the environment. He is a Director of the Farmer's Link, and a member of their Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Working Group. Reappointed to ACRE for 3 years from 18 August 2002 and for a further 3 years from 18 August 2005. He has been reappointed for a further term from 18 August 2008 until 17 June 2009.

Professor Jim Dunwell

University of Reading
Expertise: Plant biotechnology

Professor of Plant Biotechnology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading. He has expertise in plant cell biology, and the production and utilisation of transgenic crops. His present research interests include studies of plant gene expression and the evolution of plant proteins. Joined ACRE in September 2003 as the ex-officio representative of ACNFP. Appointed as an ACRE member in his own right for 3 years from 9 October 2006.

Professor Rosemary Hails MBE

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Oxford
Expertise: Pathogen population ecology, entomology

Prof Hails is a Biodiversity Section Head at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Oxford, a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University and a fellow of St Annes College, Oxford. She was a member of the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission 2000 – 2005. Her research interests include biological invasions of insects, plants and pathogens, how these invasions may affect the native communities, and the risk assessment of genetically modified plants and viruses. She was awarded an MBE for services to environmental research in June 2000. First appointed to ACRE for 3 years from 9 October 2006.

Dr Penelope Hirsch

Rothamsted Research
Expertise: Molecular biology and microbial ecology

Dr Hirsch is a Principal Research Scientist at Rothamsted Research. She has expertise in molecular biology with particular interest in soil microbial ecology. Dr Hirsch is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification. Reappointed to ACRE for 3 years from 1 September 2003. She has been reappointed for a further term from 1 September 2006 to 17 June 2009.

Professor Keith Lindsey

Durham University
Expertise: Plant molecular biology

Professor Lindsey is Director of Research and Professor of Plant Molecular Biology in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Durham University He has expertise in the mechanisms of gene function, particularly in relation to how plants grow and develop. He has been an advisor to the European Federation of Biotechnology and to the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, and a member of the Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee, and is currently Chair of the Society for Experimental Biology Plant Section. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Biology. First appointed to ACRE for 3 years from 1 September 2003. He has been reappointed for a further 3-year term with effect from 1 September 2006.

Mr Jim Orson

The Arable Group
Expertise: Agronomy, farming practice and plant biology

Mr Orson is Research and Technical Director of the Arable Group. He has experience as a practical agronomist with arable systems and weed control skills and has close links with farmers. He was previously employed by ADAS and has served on the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. He served on the Scientific Steering Committee for the Farm-scale Evaluations. First appointed to ACRE for 3 years from 18 August 2002 and reappointed for a further 3 years from 18 August 2005. He has been reappointed for a further 4 years from 18 August 2008 until 17 August 2012.

Professor Andrew Peters

University of Edinburgh
Expertise: clinical development and regulation of vaccines

Professor Peters is Director, Translational Research at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh. He also runs his own consultancy business Arpexas Ltd. specialising in vaccine development and knowledge transfer. He has considerable experience in reproductive biology and his current research interest is in immunocontraceptive vaccines. He also holds a special professorship in animal science at the University of Nottingham. First appointed to ACRE for 3 years from 9 October 2006.

Professor Mark Rees

University of Sheffield
Expertise: Weed ecology and plant population biology

Professor Rees is a professor in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. His research interests include plant population dynamics and its application to the biological control of weeds, the evolutionary ecology of plant traits such as seed size and dormancy, the timing of reproduction and the development of theoretical tools for studying structured populations. Reappointed to ACRE for 3 years from 18 August 2002 and for a further 3 years from 18 August 2005. He has been reappointed for a further term from 18 August 2008 until 17 June 2009.

A recruitment process is under way to fill a vacancy on the committee.