People and Governance
Meet the team
Programme team
| Role | Held by |
|---|---|
| Programme Director |
Professor Guy Poppy |
| Senior Responsible Officer |
Dr Riaz Bhunnoo |
| Programme Manager |
Dr Roya Shahrokni |
| Programme Manager |
Hannah Mitchell |
| Knowledge Exchange Fellow |
Dr Tracey Duncombe Knowledge Exchange Fellow, SPF Programme, University of Reading |
Programme Board
The Transforming UK Food Systems SPF Programme is governed by a decision-making Programme Board of partner organisations working in health, environment, food systems, innovation and policy areas. Those members sitting on the Programme Board include:
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
- Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Food Standards Agency (FSA)
- Innovate UK
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID)
All partner organisations are involved in shaping the programme and guiding its implementation. The differing focus and scope of each partner organisation ensures interdisciplinarity and that a systems approach is taken across all of our activities.
About the team
Professor Guy Poppy
Programme Director
Guy is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Bristol and Director of the Transforming UK Food Systems Programme. He has significant experience in food system research and has advised governments around the world. He spent six years as the FSA’s Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) and prior to this he directed the Interdisciplinary Research Strategy at the University of Southampton. He has published extensively on food systems and food security. He was appointed Companion of the Order of Bath in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021 and made a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2022.
Dr Riaz Bhunnoo
Senior Responsible Officer
Riaz provides strategic leadership and drives forward cross-stakeholder, interdisciplinary activities in partnership with the UK public funders of food security research. He is the Director of the Global Security Programme and has worked at BBSRC since 2005. In that time he has undertaken secondments to the RCUK Executive Directorate to work on cross-Council research coordination and policy, and the Gates Foundation to work on Grand Challenge Explorations. Riaz is a strong advocate of interdisciplinary working to tackle the biggest challenges facing society.
Dr Roya Shahrokni
Senior Programme Manager
Roya is a Senior Programme Manager within the Global Food Security Programme and is the SPF Programme Manager. Previous to this position, Roya spent time at the Office for National Statistics and completed her PhD focussing on the effects of portion size reduction on consumer choice behaviour at the University of Bristol. It is her hope that this research could support evidence-based policy decisions related to population health.
With a background in mental health support, Roya has a personal interest in encouraging positive and practical techniques for managing personal and work-related well-being as well as supporting sustainable and healthy eating practices.
Hannah Mitchell
Programme Manager
Hannah is a Programme Manager of the Transforming UK Food Systems Programme within the Global Food Security Team.
Hannah is a Registered Associate Nutritionist having studied Nutrition with Industrial Placement at the University of Nottingham. She then went on to study a Masters in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health at the University of Bristol where she became passionate about using research and evidence to inform policy decisions regarding people’s health and wellbeing. Hannah is also interested in the sustainability and resilience of the food system and the use of cross-sector, interdisciplinary research and collaboration to address the challenges the food system is facing.
Dr Tracey Duncombe
Knowledge Exchange Fellow
Tracey is a Knowledge Exchange Fellow, engaging with research teams and programme partners across the SPF to identify and address key stakeholder evidence needs. She has supported the UK biosciences community for over 15 years in science communication roles (within a learned society, research institute, and at BBSRC) to generate activities and publications that have a strong collective voice. More recently, she steered a portfolio of projects at the University of Reading to build outstanding impact. Tracey is interested in working with partners across the SPF to develop an inclusive platform for mutual learning: to build capacity for delivering transformational change; to broker knowledge exchange; and to showcase the work of the programme.
