Simon Kerley Email & Phone Number

Swindon

Head of strategy responsible for leading the development for science strategy within the terrestrial ecosystems sector including that for soils, wider terrestrial ecosystem services, global food security and synthetic biology. My role includes developing strategic plans and opportunities to meet the challenges set out in the NERC strategy, promoting.

I was the Strategy and Policy Manager and Deputy Head of Sector for the Bioscience Underpinning Health Sector. In addition to the deputising duties, I have specific lead in the sector for neuroscience, diet and health,physiology (human and animal). I also support colleagues in the delivery of policy behind animal health, animal welfare, 3Rs and ageing.

Responsibility for a portfolio of BBSRC activities within the sector and day-to-day management of Healthy Organism Strategy Panel activities, and contrinute to the development and implementation of BBSRC strategy, policy and business activities for the Bioscience for health Sector through.

Key responsibilities were to manage and contribute to the effective running of the peer-review of grant applications submitted to the Animal Sciences Committee. and to ensure the Committee was suitable run and maintianed and peer review was effective and timely. A key aspect of the role was stakeholder engagement - both academics, Government and Industry.

Responsibility for the running of the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy Panel and the delivery of its policies through intiatives, and cross funder schemes and workshops

Programme Manager within the Agri-Food (AF) Branch, with responsibility for the scientific areas: Sustainable Agricultural Systems including the priority areas of Biodiversity Utilisation and Conservation in Agriecosystems and Integrative Behaviour of the Soil-Plant System. Within the Agri-Food team I was responsible for ensuring the delivery of peer.

Plant physiologist establishing lupin nutrition physiology and intolerance to alkaline soils. Aim of the work was to determine the physiological mechanisms of intolerance to calcareous soils of white lupin, and to develop strategies defining and improving tolerance e.g. through their proteoid root strucutre.

The post was to establish the feasibility of using 15N natural abundance in grassland environment studies. My duties were to initiate and conduct the research, write papers and a report. The project led to further research grants.

Phd, Plant And Microbial Ecophysiology

Bsc. (Hons), Botany/Plant Biology, 2:1

With subsidriary subjects in animal biology and geology. Specialist research project on taxonomy.