The UK Plant Sciences Federation (UKPSF) is a special advisory committee of the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). It brings together the UK plant science community, to develop a coordinated approach to policy and practice in research, industry, funding, education and outreach, wherever possible.

The UKPSF was launched in November 2011 and is currently formed from 21 member organisations from across the plant sciences. Each member organisation is represented on our Advisory Group, which determines and sets the strategy and operational direction of the Federation. The Committee is voted from and by the Advisory Group, and functions to develop and manage the specific activities of the UKPSF.

Plant Science newsletter

UKPSF publishes a monthly round-up of plant science policy headlines and stories.

To subscribe to this newsletter
Sign into mySociety and select 'Subscribe to our publications', then choose which items you wish to receive. Non-members can also subscribe to RSB e-newsletters by registering on the website.

The latest issue of the newsletter is available as a PDF.

Growing the future report

In January 2019, the UKPSF published its report, Growing the future. This report highlights to policymakers and others the excellence of plant science in the UK, and its importance to the biosciences, the economy, and society both at home and around the world.

Committee

Dr Geraint Parry (chair) – GARNet
Professor Dawn Arnold FRSB – Microbiology Society
Dr Alison Bentley – Monogram
Mr Richard Dale – Syngenta
Professor Murray Grant – British Society for Plant Pathology
Mr Dan Jenkins – Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme
Dr Stefan Kepinski – Society for Experimental Biology
Dr Bill Parker – AHDB
Professor Monique Simmonds – Co-opted member
Dr Julian Smith – Fera

Contact

If your organisation would like to get involved with this initiative, please email the UKPSF team.

Plant Health Undergraduate Summer Studentships

The UKPSF arranges funded undergraduate studentships in plant health to be carried out, funded in 2019 by Defra, BSPP, N8 AgriFood and the David Colegrave Foundation. Applications for the next round of studentships will open in spring.

UKPSF website

More details about the Federation can be found at the UKPSF website: www.plantsci.org.uk

This is a free online portal for plant scientists to keep up to date with relevant news, events, funding opportunities and related communities.

Get involved on social media

Follow us on Twitter
Join our LinkedIn networking group

Previous events

UK PlantSci 2016 | 11 - 12 April 2016 | John Innes Centre, Norwich

The annual UKPSF conference showcased the wealth of plant sciences in the UK. Visit the meeting website for further details and the event programme. You can also read more about the conference on UKPSF blog and see the highlights of the event on Storify.

Funding

The UKPSF operates with financial support from the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB), the Biochemical Society and the British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP). The UKPSF was founded with support from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and SEB.