Transparency data

Science Council register of interest

Published 25 June 2026

Committee members

1. Professor John O’Brien

1.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	The Food Observatory, Founder and Director (2018-present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Scientific Advisory Board, Danone Food Safety Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands (2018-present) . Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd - Consultancy on probiotic products (Oct 2024-Oct 2026).
Shareholdings.	Deere & Co.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	Member, Policy & Engagement  Committee, Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) (UK). Chair, External Advisory Board, Nutrition Innovation Centre for Diet and Health (NICHE),University of Ulster.
Other personal interests.	Occupational pensions: Nestle SA, Danone SA, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Elsevier PLC. Spouse works on consultancy project for Kenvue Healthcare.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	Royal Society of Chemistry. Institute of Food Science and Technology. Society of Toxicology. Institute of Food Technologists. Society for Risk Analysis. Society of Chemical Industry. Association of Official Analytical Chemists. International Association for Food Protection. Advisory Council Member, Campden BRI.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	Strategic Advisory Committee. Need For Nutrition Education/Innovation Programme (NNEDPRO), Cambridge, UK.

1.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	Nestlé SA, Head of Food Safety & Integrity Research Programme (until 2018).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Editor, Trends in Food Science & Technology journal (until 2024). ThermoFisher Scientific Inc. USA (2018-2022). Crème Global, Dublin, Ireland, Consultancy project on food factory risk management (2019). Arthur D. Little, Consultancy on Food Quality Management (2021).
Shareholdings.	Nestle SA.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	Spouse worked for Johnson & Johnson Inc. (until 2020).

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	Board Member, Campden BRI (2015-2023). Trustee: Institute of Food Science & Technology, UK (2020-2023). Member, International Scientific Advisory Board, Queens University Belfast (2013). Executive Advisory Board, Institute for Food Safety & Health, Chicago (2015-2017). Chair, International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe Branch (2013-2017). Trustee, ILSI, Washington (2014-2018). Trustee, Feeding Tomorrow, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Chicago (2014-2017).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

2. Professor Peter Borriello

2.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Chair of Responsible use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) Independent Scientific Panel (2023 - present). Co-opted onto the Council of the British Society of Antimicrobials and Chemotherapy (BSAC) (2025 - present).
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	Microbiology Society. Since 2006. Applied Microbiology International (Fellow) ( 2025 - present). Member of Advisory Board of BactiVac (2023 - present). Member of Hong Kong Expert Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) (2018 - present).
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	University College London (1998 - present).
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	Safe Medicines for Animals (SMArt) (2019 - present).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

2.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Veterinary Medicines agency (retired 2021).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Review of Irish Medicines Agency (August 2023-May 2024). World Bank (September 2023-June 2024) on AMR. World Organisation on Animal Health (March 2024-July 2024) on AMR.  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation- consultancy on improving veterinary medicines regulation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (June 2022 - December 2024).
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	British Infection Society (ended 2025).
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

3. Professor Emily Burton

3.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	Nottingham Trent University (NTU) (2007 - present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	July 2022: Consultancy for Avara Foods Ltd – conducted through my current employer (NTU) Independent review of their trial data.
Shareholdings.	Shareholdings in Si Active Ltd  - Company number 06932163.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	Director: Egg and Poultry Industry Conference Ltd World’s Poultry Science Association (WPSA) (2021 - present). European Working Group on Poultry Nutrition, UK representative (2021 - present). WPSA UK branch member (1996 - present).
Other personal interests.	Husband is lay member of Food Standards Agency (FSA) Committee on Toxicology.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	Travel costs paid to speak at conferences for the following organisations: Animal Nutrition Association of Canada; European Federation of the World’s Poultry Science Association; South African Feed Manufacturers’ Association.
Trusteeships.	Gordon Memorial Trust (2019 - present) Trustee: British Poultry Science Trust (2020 - present).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	FSA Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs, Member.
Other non-personal interests.	The commissioning of research or other work by, or advice from, staff who work in a unit for which a member is responsible. Research commissioned for Avara Foods Ltd, 2 Sisters Food Group, ForFarmers, ABAgri, Kemin, Danisco, Alltech, Arden Biotech, Premier Nutrition, Deepbranch Biotech; Green Plains, Clonbiotech.

3.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	MARS UK, University of Nottingham (2005-2007). University of Nottingham (2001-2007).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	Councillor for British Society for Animal Science (2009-2011).
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

4. Professor Steven Cummins

4.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	I undertake occasional work for government research funders (Swiss National Science Foundation, Swedish Research Council, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)) for which an honorarium is paid.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	I am an active researcher in food and food policy as applied to public health and author papers and reports, as well as present findings at conferences, seminars and to politicians and civil servants.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	I am a current holder of a NIHR Senior Investigator award.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	I am a trustee of Townley Grammar School, with a remit for school food.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

4.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	Previously held fellowships from NIHR & Medical Research Council (MRC) with a focus on diet and food.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	Previously a member of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) Social Science Research Committee (now Advisory Committee for Social Science).
Other non-personal interests.	None.

5. Professor Peter Gregory

5.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Chair, Recommended List Board, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) (2014 - present). Grant reviews and meetings for Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and EU research projects: ongoing.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	Chair, Crops For the Future CIC (2020 – present).
Other personal interests.	Honorary Fellow National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) (2020). Deputy Chair, Science Advisory Board. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany (2016 - present). Member, Genetic Improvement Networks (GIN) Science Advisory Committee, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (2025 - present). Member, Science Committee, Royal Horticultural Society (2010 - present).

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	Royal Society of Biology (1989). Royal Agricultural Society of England (2004). Royal Agricultural Societies (2020). Chartered Institute of Horticulture (2014).
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	Partner, Alreside Meadow LLP (2022 - present).
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

5.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	University of Reading.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

6. Mrs. Jacqueline Healing

6.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	Member of Food Standards Agency (FSA) Science Council (March 2024 - present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Independent Food safety consultant and expert witness (July 2023 - present).
Shareholdings.	J Sainsbury plc and Coles Australia.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	Board Director SOFHT (Society of Food hygiene and Technology) (October 2023 - present) Non executive Director SALSA (Safe  and Local supplier approval) (September 2025 - present) Fellow Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) (December 2023 - present).
Other personal interests.	Magistrate and Justice of the Peace (October 2025 - present). Member of our local sailing club Royal Victoria Yacht Club, where I advise on food safety matters relating to their in house catering operation.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	IFST.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

6.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	Director of Consulting and Technical services, NSF International, (August 2016- July 2023). General Manager Responsible Sourcing, Quality and Product Technology, Coles Supermarkets, Australia (May 2006- Nov 2015).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	Husband is a retired chef.

7. Ms. Claire Nicholson

7.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Lay/consumer member the British Pharmacopoeia.
Shareholdings.	My husband, Robert Toms is partner at Smedvig Ventures a small private equity company with direct investments in early stage tech companies primarily in Northern Europe, and indirect investments via buy-out funds globally. Smedvig Ventures has a portfolio of direct investments mainly in technology/software businesses.  The full list can be viewed at https://smedvig.vc/portfolio/.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	British Pharmacopoeia Commission (July 2024-present).
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	Trustee of The Reading Foundation, a small educational charity associated with Reading School (2017- Present).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	My son Kieran Toms is a Medical Doctor, (formerly at Barts NHS healthcare trust) currently undertaking a PhD at Insitut Pasteur in Paris. His research is about the host and bacterial factors involved in Listeria monocytogenes invasion of the central nervous.

7.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	Independent Director for consumer interests at Red Tractor Farm Assurance (2014- January 2020).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Previously Lay/consumer member of Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) (2013-2020).
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

8. Professor Tom Oliver

8.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	University of Reading, Professor of Applied Ecology (2015 - present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	Author of popular science books with publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (W&N) “The Self Delusion: The Surprising Science of Our Connection to Each Other and the Natural World” (2020) Bristol University Press “The Nature Delusion - Why We Can’t Fix the World Without Fixing Ourselves”.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	Trustee for conservation charity ‘I Stand Beside’ (2025- present).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	Office for Environmental Protection expert college member (2023 - present).
Other non-personal interests.	None.

8.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (2007-2015).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	Trustee for Wild about Wallingford (2022 to 2025).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

9. Professor Simon Pearson

9.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	Head of School, Agri-Food Technology and Manufacturing.  The University of Lincoln. Director Freiston Associates Ltd.  Director Fruitcast.AI Ltd.  Director Agaricus Robotics Ltd.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	Fruitcast.AI. Frieston Associates Ltd.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	My wife is Director of CERES Agri-Tech at the University of Cambridge and Board Member of Horticulture Crop Protection Ltd.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	Royal Agricultural Society of England (Honorable) Institution of Agricultural Engineers Royal Society of Biology.
Indirect support.	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK (IUK), Research England, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Horizon 2020 (H2020).
Trusteeships.	Douglas Bomford Trust.
Land and property.	House in Lincolnshire.
Other public appointments.	Advisory Group Chair IUK Bridge AI.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

9.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Xihelm Ltd, Cibus Investments.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

10. Professor Richard Smith

10.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	Professor of Public Health Economics and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Exeter (2018 - present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Small consultancy for Food Standards Agency (FSA) on third infectious intestinal disease (IID3) study (August 2023 to July 2028).
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	Non-Executive Director, South West Academic Health Science Network (2018 - present).
Other non-personal interests.	None.

10.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Small consultancies for FSA (2020 -2025) and the World Bank (September 2023 to June 2024).
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	Non-Executive Director, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (September 2024 - November 2025). Non-Executive Director, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, Truro, (January 2019 - May 2022).

11. Professor Michael Tildesley

11.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	University of Warwick (2016 - present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

11.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	None.
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Consultancy for Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on highly pathogenic avian influenza spread (2022/23).
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

12. Professor Jonathan Wastling

12.1 Current Interests

Personal

Direct employment.	Brunel University, London, (2023 - present).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	Editor for Cambridge University Press journal on infectious disease past 25 years.
Shareholdings.	BP, Lloyds <£250.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (2023 - present).
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	PCC Parish Church Cheshire (2023 - present).
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.

12.2 Historic Interest

Personal

Direct employment.	University of Keele (2015-2023).
Consultancies and other fee-paid work.	None.
Shareholdings.	None.
Clubs, other organisations and advocacy groups.	None.
Other personal interests.	None.

Non personal interests

Fellowships.	None.
Indirect support.	None.
Trusteeships.	None.
Land and property.	None.
Other public appointments.	None.
Other non-personal interests.	None.