BBSRC Deputy Executive Chair
Professor Guy Poppy is Deputy Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Guy started this role on 1 July 2022.
A graduate of Imperial College and the University of Oxford, Professor Poppy worked at Rothamsted Research before joining the University of Southampton in 2001.
Guy has twice served as Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary research at Southampton and prior to this as Head of the School of Biological Sciences.
He was a member of the Research Excellence Framework (REF2014 and REF2021) panel assessing the quality of agriculture, food and veterinary science in the UK.
Professor Poppy served as the Food Standards Agency’s inaugural Chief Scientific Adviser from 2014 to 2020 and 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.
On 1 July 2023, Guy was appointed interim Executive Chair of BBSRC. He served as interim Executive Chair for 12 months before returning to his substantive post as BBSRC’s Deputy Executive Chair on 1 July 2024.
Alongside his duties as BBSRC Deputy Executive Chair, Guy holds the following positions on behalf of UK Research and Innovation:
- food sector champion
- director of the Transforming UK Food Systems Strategic Priorities Fund
- tackling infections strategic theme programme lead
Last updated: 9 July 2024