Biocontrol expert and serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the development of biopesticides and integrated pest and disease management (IPM) strategies in the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors. He holds a PhD in Applied Agricultural Sciences from the University of Ghent (Belgium). In 2013 he obtained the BASIS certificate in Commercial Horticulture, and in 2015 he received the Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management. In addition to having published more than 70 papers from his research in scientific journals, in 2012 he founded Bionema, a company that develops and commercialises the research he carries out at Swansea University in Wales, with which he has been associated since 2005. He has developed more than 12 bioproducts and has raised £680,000 in equity investment and more than £1m in grants. He is also founder and chairman of The World BioProtection Forum, a non-profit organisation that since 2019 has been fostering collaboration between the biocontrol industry and academia.

Lecture title:

“Challenges and Opportunities in the development of biocontrol strategies“