Professor Martin Warren has been appointed as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for the Quadram Institute following an internal competition.

The CSO role is pivotal to the development of the Institute’s scientific strategy and the scientific leadership of QIB. Martin will now take up the role of CSO and will also continue to lead his research group.

Responsibilities of the CSO include:

• Leading in the development and implementation of the QIB scientific strategy.

• Responsible with the Institute Director and ISP Leaders for developing and advising on the Institute’s scientific vision.

• Supporting the Director and ISP Leaders in the oversight and development of future ISPs.

• Horizon scanning/analysing the scientific landscape searching for new opportunities.

• Working with ISP Leaders and Group Leaders to develop strategies to ensure the internationally recognised quality of basic, strategic and applied research as evidenced through refereed publications, citations, successfully obtaining grant income and high social and economic impact.

• Supporting the development of the next generation of scientists by coaching, mentoring and acting as a role model and advocate for QIB.

• Working with the Institute’s Chief Business Officer to support the development of an entrepreneurial culture at the Institute.

• Seizing opportunities to broaden and strengthen Quadram’s reputation on the global stage and inspire scientific excellence across the Institute.

Quadram Institute Director Prof Ian Charles said: “I’m delighted to be able to announce Martin Warren’s appointment as our Chief Scientific Officer. This is a pivotal new role which is vital to the development of our scientific strategy and Martin will help provide invaluable scientific leadership and direction.”

Prof Martin Warren said: “I’m excited by the opportunities provided by this appointment and for the chance to develop the science strategy at the Quadram Institute. The institute is very well placed to continue making major discoveries in areas of food nutrition, health and safety – and turn our vision of extending healthy living lifespan into a reality. It is important that we continue to develop our unique scientific capabilities to address key national and international needs.”

Biography

Prof Warren is a biochemist and is originally from Northern Ireland. A Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences, Martin was awarded a BBSRC Professorial Fellowship to work on the bioengineering of complex metabolic pathways and in 2018 gained a Royal Society Industrial Fellowship.

Martin Warren went to Southampton University where he read Biochemistry as an undergraduate (1981-1984). He stayed on in the Biochemistry Department to do a PhD with Professor Peter Shoolingin-Jordan, which initiated his interest in the genetics and biochemistry of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis.

After completing his PhD studies, he moved in 1989 to Texas A & M University, where he worked as a research associate with Professor Ian Scott FRS on vitamin B12 biosynthesis. In 1991 he took up a lecturing position in the School of Biological Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London, where he stayed until 1995 when he moved to a Senior Lecturer position at the Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London.

He was promoted to Reader of Biochemistry in 1998 but then moved back to the School of Biological Sciences at Queen Mary in 1999 to take up a Personal Chair. In 2005 he moved to the University of Kent, where he is Professor of Biochemistry. In 2007 he was awarded a BBSRC Professorial Fellowship to work on the bioengineering of complex metabolic pathways.

In February 2020 he was appointed lead for the Quadram Institute’s Food Innovation in Health science programme. He has published numerous articles on tetrapyrrole biosynthesis and the biochemistry underlying inherited retinopathies, as well as co-authoring a popular book on the link between tetrapyrrole biosynthesis and the madness of George III.