Register of Interests

Expert Register of Interests FSA Science Council

(June 2022)

In line with FSA policy and established good practice for accessing external expertise, Scientific Advisory Committee members are required to declare any personal or non-personal interests which represent a real or potential conflict in respect of general or specific aspects of work undertaken. Interests will be managed in accordance with the FSA’s policy and guidance.

If members have interests not specified in these notes, but which they believe could be regarded as influencing their advice or other work for FSA, they should declare them. However, members are not under any obligation to search out interests of which they might reasonably not be aware. For example, either through being unaware of all the interests of family members, or of not being aware of links between one company and another.  

Prof John O’Brien (Chair)

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : The Food Observatory, Founder and Director (2018-)
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Scientific Advisory Board, Danone Food Safety Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands (2018-present; Elsevier Ltd, Editor, Trends in Food Science & Technology (2021-present). Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd - Consultancy on probiotic products (Oct 2024-Oct 2025).
• Shareholdings: None
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Member, External Affairs Advisory Committee, IFST (UK); Chair, External Advisory Board, Nutrition Innovation Centre for Diet and Health (NICHE), University of Ulster.
• Other personal interests: None

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations:Royal Society of Chemistry, FRSC, Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK), FIFST; 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. Non-Executive Board Member and Deputy Chair, Campden BRI
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: None
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Strategic Advisory Committee, Need For Nutrition Education/Innovation Programme (NNEDPRO), Cambridge, UK

Historic Interests

Personal: 

• Direct employment : Nestlé SA, Head of Food Safety & Integrity Research Programme (until 2018)
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Book Reviewer.  Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA (2019); 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
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: None
• Other personal interests: Spouse worked for Johnson & Johnson Inc. until 2020

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: None
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: 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, ILSI Europe Branch (2013-2017); Trustee, ILSI, Washington (2014-2018); Trustee, Feeding Tomorrow, IFT, Chicago (2014-2017).
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: None
• Other non-personal interests: None

Ms. Claire Nicholson

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : Nil
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Nil
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Trustee of the Reading Foundation, a small education charity associated with Reading School (2017-present).
• Other personal interests: My husband works for 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 (To present).

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Historic Interests

Personal: 

• Direct employment : Independent Director for consumer interests at Red Tractor Farm Assurance (2014- January 2020)
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Member for consumer interests (Advisory Committee for Novel Foods and Processes) (2013-June 2020)
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Red Tractor (2014-January 2020)
• Other personal interests: Nil

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Prof. Peter Gregory

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : Nil
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Chair, AHDB Recommended List Board
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations:  Nil
• Other personal interests: Honorary Fellow NIAB

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Partner Alreside Meadow LLP

Historic Interests

Personal: 

• Direct employment : University of Reading (1980-2016)
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: East Malling Research (2011-2015)
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Nil
• Other personal interests: Nil

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Prof. Jonathan Wastling

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : Brunel University, London
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: UKRI (Selection panel work) (Ongoing); Cambridge University - Press editor of Parasitology (Ongoing).
• Shareholdings: BP (<£1000).
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Governor - Oswestry School, Shropshire; Trustee - Songbird Survival Trust.
• Other personal interests: Spouse is an employee of Liverpool University; Parents-in-law run a farming business in Cheshire

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Historic Interests

Personal: 

• Direct employment : University of Liverpool (2004-2015); Keele University (2015 - 2023)
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: BBSRC Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (2006-2015)
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Nil
• Other personal interests: Nil

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Research interests or funding which could benefit from work with FSA: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Prof Simon Pearson

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : University of Lincoln, Fruitcast Ltd
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Cibus Capital Partners
• Shareholdings: My wife is a shareholder of Agaricus Robotics Ltd
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Nil
• Other personal interests: Director Freiston Associates Ltd, Wife Director of Horticultural Crop Protection Ltd

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: HonFRASE, FIAgrE, FRSB
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Xihelm Robotics, Agaricus Robotics
• Trusteeships: Douglas Bomford Trust
• Other public appointments: BBSRC SAF SAP until April 2024
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Prof Michael Tildesley

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : Professor at the University of Warwick
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Consultancy for APHA on recent HPAI outbreak in the UK, Jan – Mar 2022Expert witness for a court case on the emergence of COVID-19, Jan-Jun 2022
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Nil
• Other personal interests: Nil

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Trusteeships: Nil
• Other public appointments: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil

Prof Peter Borriello CB

Updated: April 2024

Current Interests

Personal:

• Direct employment : Nil
• Other fee-paid work from relevant organisations, consultancies: Consultancy for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Short-term consultancy for the World Bank. Chair of the independent Science Group for RUMA (Responsible Use of medicines in Agriculture).
• Shareholdings: Nil
• Membership, affiliation, trusteeships or decision-making position with relevant organisations: Advisory Board of BactiVac. Trustee of Safe Medicines for Animals; regulatory training (SMArt).
• Other personal interests: Nil

Non-personal:

• Fellowships endowed by relevant organisations: Nil
• Indirect financial or non-financial support from relevant organisations: Nil
• Trusteeships: Nil
• Other public appointments: Nil
• Other non-personal interests: Nil