Dr Tom Jenkins (FRSB) Deputy Challenge Director, Transforming Food Production programme, Innovate UK Tom is Deputy Director of the '90 million Innovate UK Transforming Food Production programme, funding over 90 collaborative projects to develop innovations across both traditional agriculture and emerging industries such as alternative proteins to help catalyse the transition to net-zero food systems by 2040. He was previously Assistant Director at Biosciences KTN Ltd where activities focused on commercialisation of new technology for food and non-food markets, managing two special interest groups for the Technology Strategy Board focussing on synthetic biology and algal bioenergy. He currently chairs the BBSRC-funded AlgaeUK Network management board, with a focus on engineering biology approaches for commercial applications in algae. A biochemist by training, Tom has a BSc and PhD (plant molecular biology) from the University of Leeds and has worked at leading universities and research institutes in the UK and Europe.