Excellent science demands excellent translational pathways heard the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee this morning as it continued to collect evidence for its inquiry into Life Sciences and the Industrial Strategy. 

The committee had asked for a top recommendation from Angela Karp, Rothamsted’s Director for Science Innovation, Engagement and Partnerships. She was a member of a three-person panel representing the agricultural sector.

“If it’s about economic growth then we need excellent science coupled with excellent translational pathways,” said Karp.

“We need to make sure that the connection is there, that it’s cross-sectoral and [we must] not try to prescribe where the innovations might come from,” she concluded.

Karp had earlier faced questions on a range of issues. The committee asked whether the agricultural sector is well represented in current government planning and whether the best mechanisms are in place to support the agri-tech sector.

The committee has described the UK life sciences sector as “high-tech, research-intensive, diverse and innovative”. It says that a strong life sciences sector can simultaneously benefit the UK’s economy and help improve the nation’s health. 

But questions explored whether, until now, there has been too heavy a focus on the biomedical sciences, and whether the Government needs to explore and to support the contribution of the agricultural sector, particularly as it faces challenges such as Brexit. 

It emerged that what may be required is a separate government strategy for the agricultural sciences, a move supported by Karp and her two fellow panellists: Jonathan Elliott, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation, the Royal Veterinary College; and David Hughes, Head of Global R&D Technology Scouting, Syngenta. 

Karp described innovations such as new sensors, devices, robotics and the advent of Big Data in agriculture as a shift in the sector that need not necessarily mean a fall in job creation in coming years, but a change in the nature of jobs that people associate with farming and food production. 

 

The Committee session (pictured above) can be viewed online.

The committee showed particular interest in Karp’s suggestion that UK innovation needs a more dynamic, less linear approach to translating knowledge to application.

“In a linear model, there is a lot of focus on making sure the knowledge is right and, when you’re sure it’s right, you share that knowledge and look for applications of it. In a dynamic model, you are sharing that knowledge much earlier, to check the relevance of that science and that your assumptions about its usefulness are correct,” said Karp.

“By doing that you can then re-focus your efforts and improve what you’re building in your research. It’s at the basis of the way that “lean” approaches are used in start-ups: they share early; they build again; they focus again; and they re-build again.

“This is iterative sharing and engagement rather than focussing on the knowledge and hoping someone else will come along and translate it,” said Karp.

She added: “We need a much closer connection between our excellent science and innovation, the translation and the scale-up of it going outwards - and that’s best done in dynamic models.” 

Karp linked a healthy population with healthy food, and the need for greater focus on the link between healthy soil, the crops and livestock this supports, and the people who consume these.

She drew attention to the need to address the decline in recent years in important micro-nutrients, such as selenium and zinc, in some food stuffs.

Karp stressed the value of working across subject areas and suggested the need for a “Theory of Everything” for soils that might draw on research into the complex network of connections of the human brain to help make sense of the complexity of the soil ecosystem.

She cited Rothamsted’s leading role in global projects to address soil quality and health, such as the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS), supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rothamsted has submitted written evidence to the inquiry, and this will be available on the committee website once published. In the meantime, the whole of this morning’s session can be viewed online.

Rothamsted Research is strategically funded by the BBSRC and is supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust.