The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the governing body of Rothamsted Research and the Trustees of the Lawes Agricultural Trust have announced the appointment of Professor Maurice Moloney as director and chief executive of Rothamsted Research.
Rothamsted Research is one of the Institutes of BBSRC and was established more than 160 years ago. It has research campuses at Harpenden in Hertfordshire, North Wyke in Devon and Broom's Barn, Suffolk.
Professor Moloney is currently chief scientific officer of SemBioSys Genetics Inc, based in Calgary, Canada. He founded the company in 1994 and has maintained this role alongside a successful academic career at the University of Calgary, where he serves as NSERC/Dow AgroSciences Industrial Research Professor of Plant Biotechnology.
Moloney said: “Rothamsted Research is one of the most powerful engines for agricultural research in the world. It will be a great privilege to lead future scientific developments at the institute and to deploy its science in meeting the challenges of sustainable food supply, bio-based energy and mitigation of agriculture's carbon footprint for the benefit of both UK and global agriculture. I also welcome the opportunity to build on Rothamsted's strong reputation for training the next generation of skilled researchers in agricultural bioscience.”
Moloney will be the twelfth director at Rothamsted since 1843. He succeeds professor Ian Crute CBE, who retired from the institute in 2009, and is now chief scientist at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. He will assume the full duties of his post from 15 April.
