Staff

Research interests

Hilary Papworth is Senior Technical Manager with 24 years' experience of delivering trials on behalf of commercial clients and governmental bodies.

Nick manages the service delivery from NIAB’s Field Trial, Glasshouse and Laboratory teams covering agricultural and horticultural crop species. He ensure NIAB works with industry to find solutions for the efficacy testing or evaluation of their material, technology or variety, ensures projects are run efficiently, cost effectively and successfully and acts as the channel for new customers to rapidly get connected with the correct specialist and determine their needs.

Research interests

We are interested in determinants of cereal grain quality, such as starch content and composition. To inform our work, we use natural and induced mutants of barley and wheat with altered grain quality.  Our current focus is on identification of genes that influence the following processes: 1) the determination of starch granule size and number, 2) the control of embryo growth, and 3) Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. To date, we have identified genes, B-GRANULE CONTENT 1 and LYSINE 3, respectively that control the first two of these processes.

Research interests

Dr Lydia Smith joined NIAB in 1997 and initially managed the expansion of research across NIAB groups. She established and ran the Novel and Non Food Crops area, which remains an important part of NIAB’s work. With a BSc. in Botany from the University of Sheffield, an MSc, from Reading University and a PhD from the University of East London. She spent postdoctoral periods at UEA and Luton University, with periods lecturing in soil/environmental science at the University of Luton and in reclamation science on M.Sc. courses at the University of East London.

Liz Scott is Head of Crop Characterisation, Varieties and Seeds, with overall responsibility for management and delivery of NIAB’s core services to Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO). These comprise Seed Certification services and DUS testing for both National Listing and Plant Breeders’ Rights, alongside technical and policy advice on related issues.