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Research
A multi-million pound programme of strategic research delivered over five years providing science and evidence to support policymakers and its partners. Informed by strong partnerships and the needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Science at the heart of society contributing to the health, wealth and wellbeing of Scotland and beyond.
Explore our research projects
Agriculture has a key role in sequestering carbon and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to meet net zero targets. A lack of cost effective, robust, consistent, transparent and accurate methods limits large-scale use of mitigation measures. This project aims are to improve assessments of mitigation practices for additionality, permanence, and uncertainty in achieving net zero, and produce regionally specific options to reduce GHGs and effective monitoring mechanisms.
- Agricultural Greenhouse Gases
- 2022-2027
Dietary fibre has several health benefits; amongst these is acting as a restraint on food intake, body weight gain and adiposity. This study examines the gut response to high dietary fibre (pectin, oligofructose or mixed fibre) in mice fed a high fat diet to understand the mechanisms involved. The purpose of the study is to investigate how type of fibre and dose may alter this response, with the aim of providing new insights and improving our understanding of the public health benefits, so that we can advise policy, the food drink industry and the public on which type of fibres reduce food...
- Human Nutrition
- 2022-2027
We are delivering a comprehensive body of research that integrates cutting-edge mapping, artificial intelligence, genomics, experimental, and modelling techniques to quantify the abundance, diversity, and spatiotemporal dynamics of key Scottish crop pests and pathogens, as well as the ecology of pest and pathogen-host-environment-management interactions and potential impacts of climate change.
- Plant Disease
- 2022-2027
This project aims to understand how to influence consumers to make long-term changes in dietary behaviours, more specifically, assess UK and international approaches to driving long-term changes in dietary behaviour at population level and understand facilitators and barriers for consumers to make healthier and more sustainable food choices, with a focus on reducing health inequalities.
- Food & Drink Improvements
- 2022-2027
Per head of population, more cases of human illness from infection with Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STECs) occur in Scotland than elsewhere in the United Kingdom. We use detailed information from whole-genome sequences to improve knowledge of STEC that exist in the ecosystems of Scottish dairy cattle, sheep, farmed deer and leafy produce. We compare them with sequenced isolates from Scottish human cases, to help develop ways to reduce the burden of disease in the Scottish human population. We also investigate if current laboratory diagnostic detection methods can be improved, which...
- Diet & Food Safety
- 2022-2027
This project generates new insights on how the antimicrobial resitance bacteria and genes flow between farm and environment and the risk of different farms practices in the spreading of antimicrobial resistance to humans via the food chain. We analyse antibiotic and heavy metal residues for its role in antimicrobial resistance selection in soil samples. The data is informing the development of a risk model to help assess the impact of different farm management approaches.
- Diet & Food Safety
- 2022-2027
This project is generating a new practical understanding of how current Scottish food production matches or differs compared to consumption patterns of Scottish households.. We are using the information about the mismatch between local supply and demand to identify opportunities for increased food security and generating insights between what is produced and what should be consumed based on recommendations. We are also identifying how climate change may affect the local food supply and discuss how to deliver increased resilience.
- Food Supply & Security
- 2022-2027
We are consolidating data to map production, imports and exports of fresh and processed foods for major Scottish agri-food supply chains, and map these against purchasing and intake data, as well as dietary recommendations. We also model the impacts and requirements of a transition to more healthy and sustainable scenarios of production and consumption in Scotland.
- Food & Drink Improvements
- 2022-2027
This project focuses on the ecosystem services supplied by Scotland’s agricultural soils. These services are linked to emerging soil health indicators and being valued. The outcomes of the project are informing natural capital accounts and identifying the contribution of soils to Scotland’s economy and national wellbeing.
- Natural Capital
- 2022-2027
All communities in Scotland face water-related challenges but remote and coastal communities may face different challenges to those in urban areas, for example, difficulty in connecting to water mains supply or increased vulnerability to changes in distribution. This project aims to identify perceptions of water issues, exemplars of community action, and linkages between national & local policy, for better management of water resources in coastal areas.
- Water
- 2022-2027