Giles Oldroyd will be the next president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the organization announced Tuesday. He will take over the position on Oct. 1, succeeding James C. Carrington, who announced his departure last July.
Oldroyd comes to the Danforth Center from the University of Cambridge, where he holds positions as a professor of crop science and director of the crop science center. He joins the center as an internationally distinguished plant geneticist and a member of the U.K.’s Royal Society and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
“I’m really passionate about using plant science to drive impact around sustainability and equity in our global food production systems,” he said, “how we link that discovery and plant science through to the farmer and the consumer.”
Oldroyd said he sees a global challenge to finding better ways to sustainably and equitably cultivate food that meets the global population’s needs. It’s not just a challenge for high-income countries like the U.S., he said.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers are really underperforming in their crop production,” Oldroyd said. “It’s an issue of equity in food production.”
Oldroyd has experience with these challenges, given that his research focuses on the ways beneficial bacteria and fungi can help reduce or even eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizer. He’s also a leader of the Enabling Nutrient Symbioses in Agriculture project, which aims to raise crop yields in Africa by improving plant nutrient uptake.
“It’s possible that we can actually get our agricultural nutrients from much more sustainable roots, like beneficial microbial associations,” Oldroyd said. “I do think it’s possible to eradicate our need for inorganic fertilizer, and I’ll be bringing the leadership of that program to the Danforth Center when I transition.”
His connection with ENSA, which Gates Agricultural Innovations funds, also furthers the connection between the Danforth Center and Gates Ag One, both based in St. Louis.
“That is a perfect alignment,” Oldroyd said. “It will make it much easier to manage the program, and bringing [it here] strengthens and builds on the work already going on towards improving the livelihoods of some of the poorest farmers on the planet.”
A spokesperson for Gates Agricultural Innovations clarified there has not been an announcement that the ENSA would move from Cambridge to the Danforth Center. Still, Gates Agricultural Innovations CEO Joe Cornelius welcomed the news of Oldroyd’s new position and highlighted the connection between their two organizations.
“Giles’ move to St. Louis also demonstrates the city’s attractiveness to exceptional talent in the ag tech space,” Cornelius said in a statement. “[He] will no doubt add to this growing capability and further reinforce St. Louis as a global hub for agricultural innovation. I look forward to even more collaboration and achievements in the future.”
The new role for Oldroyd means he will have to step back from his personal scientific research, which is something he is sad to give up, he said.
“It’s a central aspect of my life,” Oldroyd said. “But what really excited me about the presidency of the Danforth Center is to really drive impact on a global stage and do it across the board in plant science, not just my own research.”
Oldroyd comes to the U.S. in an uncertain time, given the Trump administration’s desire to cut programs supported by the federal government. The National Science Foundation has supported a large portion of the research at the Danforth Center, and while their funding isn’t yet on the chopping block, Oldroyd said he is wary.
“When you’re looking for impact from plant science, actually delivering products to farmers and consumers, you need longevity and security,” he said. “Instability with regard to [the] federal [government] is a little threatening to that long-term stability.”
But Oldroyd said he sees the center’s philanthropic support as critical to advancing and sustaining the research already happening. He added that philanthropy already plays an important role in tackling global challenges that will likely expand into the future.
And challenges don’t equate to defeat, Oldroyd said.
“What I missed when I came to the U.K. was the real ‘can-do attitude’ that I just see in America,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting back to that, ‘We’re just going to do this. I know it’s hard, but we’re going to get on and deliver.’”
Outside of the role at the Danforth Center, Oldroyd said he is looking forward to moving to “a very beautiful city” in the Midwest and experiencing the nearby nature with his husband.
“Exploring the Midwest, more generally for its wild spaces, that’s what I would say I’m most excited about,” he said. “I’m very much interested in nature and conservation, and America is fantastic for its national parks, its nature areas.”
This story has been updated updated.
