BBSRC’s SAPs play a key role in delivering BBSRC’s mission by providing expert input and advice that:
- helps shape and develop our strategy, policies and ideas
- provides assurance, monitoring and benchmarking on our research and innovation decisions
- ensures that our research and innovation decisions are supported by expert knowledge and insight from members of the scientific research and innovation community, including those with broad experience between and across disciplines
BBSRC’s five SAPs align with the BBSRC Forward look for UK bioscience, with three addressing strategic challenge areas and two addressing cross-cutting themes. A summary of the remit of each SAP is included in the ‘Who we’re looking for’ section.
For more details, please refer to the ‘Forward look for UK bioscience’ and BBSRC’s 2022 to 2025 strategic delivery plan.
The panels are supplemented as appropriate with additional invited experts according to business need.
We welcome applications from previous panel members, but in order to encourage diversity on our panels the maximum period panel members can serve is two full terms of three years. In such cases, we would ask that applicants wait one term afterwards (three years) before re-applying.
Bioscience for Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Growth SAP
Bioscience for Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Growth (AMCG) is one of three challenge-led strategic priorities outlined in BBSRC’s ‘Forward look for UK Bioscience’ and BBSRC’s strategic delivery plan. In addition, the area contributes to the objective of building a greener future, as described in the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) corporate plan.
AMCG’s SAP focuses on the use of biological systems for:
- development of novel, bio-based and low-carbon manufacture for improved materials, chemicals, biopharmaceuticals and energy vectors
- production of more sustainable products through the utilisation of renewable resources and more sustainable feedstocks
- use of biological systems for the remediation of land, water and air
To achieve these aims, AMCG supports research and technologies including:
- biological systems including genes, enzymes, bacteria, fungi, algae, animal and plant cells as well as whole (multicellular) organisms
- feedstocks including wastes and residues in the form of gases, liquids and solids as well as perennial biomass
- technologies covering the biosciences, chemistry and engineering disciplines, with an emphasis on a wide range of biological tools to adapt and enhance productivity including forced evolution, strain selection and genomic modification
See details on the AMCG SAP and membership
The Bioscience for Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Growth (AMCG) SAP is seeking to appoint up to three positions to advise on strategic areas relevant to the group’s remit. We accept applicants with a broad range of skills and knowledge relevant to AMCG’s remit, though are particularly interested to hear from those with expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- conducting social science and public engagement in areas such as industrial biotechnology, circular bioeconomy, and bioenergy (this can include work based in the UK or internationally)
- research and analysis that helps shape and inform government, business and third sector policy in areas such as industrial biotechnology, circular bioeconomy and bioenergy
- systems analysis or modelling of bioprocesses for the manufacture of bulk or specialty chemicals (including knowledge and implementation of skills such as technoeconomic analysis and lifecycle assessment)
- development and utilisation of data-driven approaches such as machine learning and AI for the biobased manufacture of more sustainable products (this can include the molecular design of proteins for industrial biotechnological applications, feedstock or process modelling, or metabolic pathway design)
We do not expect applicants to demonstrate or fulfil all the outlined expertise areas.
We encourage applicants across career stages from the academic, industrial, policy or third sector. However, in the interests of ensuring fair community representation and recognising existing panel membership, unless there is a compelling strategic case, we are unlikely to accept further appointments from applicants currently employed by:
- Ingenza
- Unilever
- University of East Anglia
- The University of Edinburgh
- The University of Manchester
- University of Nottingham
- University of Reading
Bioscience for Sustainable Agriculture and Food SAP
The Bioscience for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (SAF) panel advises on how the UK’s strengths in bioscience can have an impact on global food and nutrition security. It also advises on how it drives innovation and policy to deliver a sustainable, productive, diverse, resilient, and healthy agri-food system.
The panel will provide advice to BBSRC on a broad range of topics including:
- sustainable food production as part of wider agri-ecosystems (lab-field-farm-landscape), managing climate change and building resilience into our agri-food systems, including food safety and reducing food waste and loss, and novel strategies to support the health of the crop or animal
- linking agriculture, food and nutrition to health benefits
- transformative technologies for agriculture and food, including precision agriculture and smart technologies, genomics and genetic diversity development
- transition to net zero in agri-food systems and reducing environmental impacts on biodiversity and soil health
See details on the SAF SAP and membership.
For Bioscience for SAF SAP, we are keen to encourage applicants with expertise in the following areas:
- a broad understanding of the arable or horticultural crops sector and experience in the translation of crop science. It would be beneficial, but not essential, to have a background in the biosciences and have experience in partnering and collaborating with academic research and innovation to progress bioscience towards impact
- post-farm gate expertise in food safety, food spoilage, nutritional quality or food manufacturing. We are particularly interested in those with a broad expertise which spans the food system for these areas
- industry experience within the post-farm gate or crops sector
We welcome applications from all organisations. However, in the interests of ensuring fair community representation, and recognising existing membership, unless there is a compelling strategic case, we are unlikely to accept further appointments to the panel from applicants employed by:
- Lancaster University
- Mowi
- Newcastle University
- University of Exeter
- University of Nottingham
- University of Reading
- University of the West of England, Bristol
Bioscience for an Integrated Understanding of Health SAP
The Bioscience for an Integrated Understanding of Health (BIUH) panel focuses on improving animal and human health and wellbeing across the life course. This centres upon providing a deep integrated understanding of the health system, and of the factors that maintain health and wellness under stress and biological or environmental challenges.
The panel will provide advice to BBSRC on a broad range of topics spanning the four challenge areas identified in the BIUH strategic framework document:
- ageing and health across the life course: understanding the biological mechanisms of ageing, with the long-term objective of maintaining and enhancing the quality of mental and physical health throughout the life course
- food and nutrition for health: understanding the biological mechanisms by which nutrients, food components, foods and whole diets and their interactions promote a healthy lifespan
- combatting infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance: coordinated transdisciplinary approach to understand, forecast, avoid and mitigate animal infectious diseases, infections of zoonotic origin and antimicrobial resistance
- transformative technologies for health: development, validation, implementation and application of tools, technologies and data that enable innovative approaches to understand and improve human and animal health and wellbeing throughout the life course
See details on the BIUH SAP and membership
For BIUH SAP we are keen to encourage applicants with expertise in the following areas:
- neuroscience and behaviour (including applications to animal welfare)
- combatting antimicrobial resistance
- social sciences within the context of bioscience
We welcome applications from all organisations. However, in the interests of ensuring fair community representation, and recognising existing membership, unless there is a compelling strategic case, we are unlikely to accept further appointments to the panel from applicants employed by:
- Babraham Institute
- Queen Mary University of London
- The Roslin Institute
- University of Birmingham
- University of Glasgow
- University of Surrey
Transformative Technologies SAP
Membership of the Transformative Technologies (TT) SAP is an opportunity to help advise BBSRC on disruptive technologies that are vital in advancing bioscience research and innovation. Transformative Technologies accelerate the pace of discovery, provide new opportunities for business and innovative ways to tackle health, environmental and productivity challenges.
The TT theme drives the emergence, development and adoption of transformative bioscience technologies, including but not limited to data-intensive bioscience, artificial intelligence (AI), engineering biology, and bioimaging.
TT SAP also covers aspects of the Rules of Life and Research Infrastructure themes, as well as relevant industrial and societal aspects across all three themes.
The Rules of Life theme promotes creative, curiosity-driven frontier bioscience to address fundamental questions in biology.
The Research Infrastructure theme aims to ensure UK bioscience, including academic researchers, innovators and industrialists, can access cutting-edge, sustainable research and innovation infrastructure.
See details on the TT SAP and membership
For TT SAP, we are keen to encourage applicants with expertise in the following areas:
- engineering biology: expertise in the development and application of synthetic and engineering biology approaches, in both fundamental and applied research challenge settings
- technology development: development and application of technologies (including technologies related to engineering biology) in the biosciences, with a focus on experimental laboratory-based expertise in areas such as analytics, detection, diagnosis, and gene and protein engineering. We are keen to encourage applications from research technology professionals
Please note that we are not inviting applications outside of the outlined expertise needs for this round of recruitment. If you would like to express interest in being a TT SAP member in the future, please get in touch at tt@bbsrc.ukri.org.
Both highlighted areas have clear aspects of commonality, connection and convergence, and applicants with relevant cross-cutting expertise are strongly encouraged to apply.
We welcome applications from all organisations. However, in the interests of ensuring fair community representation, and recognising existing membership, unless there is a compelling strategic case, we are unlikely to accept further appointments to the panel from applicants employed by:
- Cardiff University
- Francis Crick Institute
- Nottingham Trent University
- University of Bristol
- University of Dundee
- University of Nottingham
- University of Sheffield
- University of York
- Wellcome Sanger Institute
