environment, bioeconomy and sustainability
The impacts and future projections of the climate emergency mean that working to protect the environment, implement sustainable products and practices, and building a bioeconomy have become an integral part of research and innovation.
SULSA's Strategic Groups
SULSA’s Strategic Groups cover three key areas of strategic importance which have been directed by Scottish Government and funding agencies priorities. They are:
- Diagnostics and Therapeutics
- Environment, Bioeconomy and Sustainability
- Infectious Disease
These Strategic Groups are formed of senior academics with valued input from our early career researchers. They allow SULSA member universities to respond collaboratively to large multidisciplinary funding bids and drive multidisciplinary knowledge exchange.
Strategic groups will be changed every three years and will be inclusive of human, plant, animal, and microbe researchers.
Strategic Group Overview
The impacts and future projections of the climate emergency mean that working to protect the environment, implement sustainable products and practices, and building a bioeconomy have become an integral part of research and innovation.
Bioeconomy involves the harnessing of renewable biological resources for sustainable and innovative products, processes, and services. Bioeconomy promotes sustainable production and protection of renewable resources.
This requires input from a number of stakeholders and focusing on policy, regulation, and scale-up have been highlighted as a key priorities.
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meet our strategic group members

Prof Graeme Paton
Head of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen
Research Interest: Soil Science, Environmental Chemistry, Biosensors, Pollution, Environmental Microbiology, Ecotoxicology, Minerals

Prof David Burslem (Deputy)
Interdisciplinary Director for Environment and Biodiversity at the University of Aberdeen
Research Interest: Agri-Food, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Plants, Soils

Prof Louise Horsfall (Chair)
Professor Chair of Sustainable Biotechnology at University of Edinburgh
Research Interest: Sustainable Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology

Prof Alistair McCormick (Deputy)
Professor of Plant Engineering Biology at the University of Edinburgh
Research Interest: Plants, Algae, Cyanobacteria, Photosynthesis, Engineering/Synthetic Biology

Dr Guillaume Latombe (Deputy)
Lecturer in Environmental Change Biology at University of Edinburgh
Research Interest: Ecology, Macroecology and Invasion Science

Prof Stephen R. Euston
Professor of Food & Beverage Science and Technology at Heriot-Watt University
Research Interest: Alternative Food Proteins, Food Waste, Co-products, Biorefining, Microbial Biosurfactants, Plant-Based Meat & Dairy, Food Reformulation

Dr Jane White (Deputy)
Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University
Research Interest: Biomass Processing, Separation and Fermentation

Prof Christine Edwards
Professor in Applied Microbiology at Robert Gordon University
Research Interest: Sustainable Remediation, Biorefinery, Microalgae, High Value Products

Prof Giovanna Bermano (Deputy)
Professor in Metabolic Nutrition at Robert Gordon University
Research Interest: Metabolic Nutrition, Micronutrient Metabolism and Obesity

Prof Paul A Hoskisson FRSE
Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Engineering Biology at University of Strathclyde
Research Interest: Microbiology, Engineering Biology, Biotechnology, Evolutionary Biology, Antibiotics, Streptomyces, Corynebacterium

Prof Dan Walker (Deputy)
Professor of Microbiology at University of Strathclyde
Research Interest: Microbiology, Bacteriocins

Prof Christian Rutz FRSE
Professor of Biology at University of St Andrews
Research Interest: Human-Wildlife Interactions, Sustainable Coexistence, Animal Tracking (bio-logging), Reproducibility, Science-policy Interface, Research Networks and Consortia, Animal Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution

Dr Michael Ross
Senior Researcher in Algal Biotechnology at the Scottish Association for Marine Science
Research Interest: Algal Biotechnologist, Microbial Ecology, Taxonomy, Genomics and Metabolomics

Dr Tom Wilding (Deputy)
Benthic Ecologist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science
Research Interest: Image Analysis, eDNA, Environmental Monitoring, Regulation, Aquaculture

Dr Kiri Rodgers
Lecturer in Environmental Science at the University of the West of Scotland
Research Interest: Environmental Pollution, Anthropogenic Activities, Antimicrobial Resistance, Sediments, Water, Biogeochemistry

Prof Andrew Love
Research Leader in Cell and Molecular Sciences and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow
Research Interest: Plant Virology, Circular Bioeconomy and Development of Novel Materials from Plant Waste, Animal Vaccine Delivery Platforms
