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Staff Profile

Professor Lynn Frewer

Professor of Food & Society

Background
Lynn has academic interests in all areas of food and society, including those areas which require transdiciplinary collaboration between the social and natural sciences. Lynn is also interested in translating the results of research into actional policy recommendations.
Career

  • Professor, Food and Society at the Newcastle University (from January 2011).
  • Professor, Food Safety and Consumer Behaviour, Wageningen University , the Netherlands (2002-2010, continuing as Emeritus)
  • Head , Consumer Science Group at the Institute of Food Research, UK (1998-2002).
  • Senior Research Scientist (Institute of Food Research, Reading, UK, 1992-1998)
  • Previous appointments as Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Psychiatry, London, 1990-92) and as lecturer, University of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 1998-1990).   
Examples of Committee Membership (recent)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, European Joint Programming Initiative, “A Healthy diet for a healthy life” (From 2011).
  • Member, Consumer Science Task Force, “Food for Life” Technology platform (from 2011).
  • Member, UK FSA Social Science Research Committee (from 2011)
  • Member, International Scientific Advisory Committee, AFMnet, (Advanced Food and Materials Network), Canada (Since 2002)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, GM and sustainable food production, MISTRA (Swedish Environmental Funding Agency (2010)
  • External Science Advisory Panel, CEFIC Long Rang Research Initiative (expert member since 2001, Chair since 2009)
  • Chair, ILSI expert groups, (a) Consumers and food technology (2009-2011) and (b) Food risk communication (from March 2011).      

Education

  • PhD Applied Psychology, University of Leeds (1987)
  • MSc Ergonomics, University College London, UK (1983)
  • BSc Psychology, 2i, Bristol University, UK (1991)
For a full list of my publications please see my Google Scholar Profile
Research


Current Research Interests

·      Developing transdisciplinary research into agri-food systems, including interactions between the social

sciences and the biological, environmental, engineering and the arts and humanities.  

·      Understanding how to facilitate and accelerate farmer, stakeholder and end-user adoption of emerging

agrifood technologies and innovations (in the UK, resource rich and LMICs).

·      Developing qualitative, quantitative and digital methodologies to understand attitudes and behaviors

related to food security, including co-production methodologies.  

·      Operationalizing scientific foresight regarding research agenda setting, policy and governance

 

Grants awarded

I have had extensive involvement in transdisciplinary agrifood projects, including in relation to human, environmental and animal health, and the “One Health agenda, and involving LMICs.  

Current relevant projects

FRIBO : Financial Rewards for Improved Biodiversity Outcomes. Stage 1 NERC lfund research, leading to IFB phase 2 project on green finance.

Sushealth (BBSRC Transforming Food Systems) (1st July 2022-30th June 2025). Objective: To make food choice decision-making easier with respect to sustainability and health

Agroforestry futures (NERC treescapes) 12th August 2022 – 11th July 2024. Objective; To understand the future of agroforestry and codevelop the ecosystems and landscapes which this delivers

AgriFood4NetZero: Plausible Pathways, Practical and Open Science for Net Zero Agrifood (EPSRC Agrifoodnetwork+). 1st July 2022- 30th June 2025. Objective: to create a strong and impactful Network to support rapid, robust and trusted transformation of the agri-food sector to achieve net zero.

Holifood  (Horizon Europe/UK associated partner), 1st October 2022-September 2026. WP lead (engagement, science and policy) aObjective: To codesign with stakeholders methods to identify emerging food risks.

SUPERG (Horizon Europe), 1st June 2018- 28th February 2024. WP leads 1. Securing performance 2. Ethical analysis. Value. Euro 10,000,000, Newcastle value Euro 800,000. Objectives: to co-develop sustainable permanent grassland (PG) systems and policies with farmers, citizens, food consumers and policy makers

Projects funded in the last 5 years


INEXTVIR (Horizon 2020 MC ITN), 1st February 2019 - 31st July 2023.  Role: WP Lead, Societal perceptions of risks associated with the virome in agriculture.  Objectives: analysis of the virome of selected agricultural crops and ecosystems across Europe.

Red Apple (BBSRC INNOVATE), 1st April 2019-31st April 2022.

Objective: Stakeholder and consumer adoption of precision agriculture technologies in China and the UK

Demeter (EFSA). 1st January, 2017- 31st December 2020.

Objective:  To use data mining and data science solutions (digital technologies) to enable identification of emerging food safety issues Role: Lead WP 4, societal engagement in emerging risk identification, (citizen science, social media, expert knowledge elicitation).  

Prohealth (EU FP7) 1st December 2013 – 30th November 2018. Objective: To address production diseases of pigs and poultry raised in a wide range of EU intensive systems. Role: Task leads: consumer attitudes to farm animal welfare and production diseases, including prevention and mitigation strategies

Food Integrity* (EU FP7) 1st January 2014 – 31st December 2018. Objective: To assess the integrity of European foods in relation to threat from fraud. WP lead: Consumer attitudes to Food fraud and authenticity.

Animal genomics: (Genome Canada) 1st June 2016- 30th April 2019.  Objective: Gene editing of farm Animals for increasedand sustainability. Wp lead ,consumer stakeholder and farmer attitudes towards gene editing, in pigs and cattle

Other Projects which have involved interdisciplinary research Ionizing radiation exposure and risk perceptions  (EU FP5, and the UK Department of Health, understanding the impacts mobile phone technology on risk perceptions in Bangladesh (Mobile phone industry), Chemical Mixtures (CEFIC),  nanotechnologies (Wageningen University core funding), researcher perceptions of the European Clinical Trials Directive on medical research- Clint, EU FP6, Understanding stakeholder views on developing novel approaches to pharmaceutical funding via a global Health Impact Fund (INNOVA, FP6)  and the circular bioeconomy  (Wageningen University) as well as core funded research at the Institute of Food Research and EU funded collaborative actions linked to healthy eating and the circular bioeconomy, 

Other examples of involvement in EU projects include Pegasus (scientific coordinator), Safefoods (Workpackage leader in Consumer Behaviour), Europrevall (theme leader, Socio-economic issues), Qualibra (workpackage leader), Go-global (workpackage leader), and BROWSE (workpackage leader). In addition, Lynn has been PI for funding from, inter alia, the DUTCH NWO and VWA, UK DEFRA and industry bodies such as the Mobile phone industry board, SUSCHEM. Whilst employed in the UK I have been awarded research grants from the UK FSA, DEFRA, DoH, and BBSRC CSG .

Publications