Laura Grenville-Briggs Didymus

Presentation

Laura Grenville-Briggs Didymus, professor in Integrated Plant Protection at the department of Plant Protection Biology. At SLU since 2014.

Basic educations:

• BSc Applied Biology, (Univ. Bath, UK)
• PGCHE higher education teaching and learning, (Univ. Aberdeen, UK)
• PhD Microbial Genetics (Univ. Birmingham, UK)

Recent positions and professional assignments:

• Member faculty board LTV 2019-
• Chair of the LTV faculty docent board 2022-
• Deputy Chair SLU Plant Protection Network 2021-
• Deputy representative for SLU in ScilifeLab National Genomics Infrastructure steering committee 2021-
• Member SLU Center for Biological Control Steering committee 2020-
• Faculty Professor in Integrated Plant Protection at VSB since 2018
• LTV faculty Equal opportunities prize (for mentorship work) 2018
• Co-founder & co-coordinator Växa LTV mentorship program 2017-
• Researcher and SSF future research leaders fellow, VSB, SLU 2014-2018
• Researcher, KTH, SE, 2011-2014, (Docent in Microbial Glycobiology (KTH) 2012.)

Important future issues for the faculty and how I can contribute:

We live in a world of increasing uncertainty where we face grand challenges such as biodiversity loss, food insecurity and climate change. Our faculty must lead the way in research, education, environmental analysis and societal engagement to meet these challenges. I wish to support the development of the faculty to ensure we continue to meet these challenges, whilst ensuring equal opportunities and the best conditions possible for career development. E.g., through work in the Docent board, mentorship programs, and towards long-term stability in research & education.

Personal reflections:

Being part of the faculty board has been very rewarding and has challenged me to think strategically and dream big for the future. We must continue to dare to dream big, whilst at the same time providing a supportive environment for all co-workers no matter their job title. I have also been privileged to chair the docent board helping to support researchers in their next steps in their careers and I would like to ensure we can continue to support the development of the next generation of dedicated PhD supervisors and teachers, by continuing this work.