LEAP conference keynote speakers announced

Lindsay Jaacks is a Professor of Global Health and Nutrition at The University of Edinburgh in the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems. Prior to moving to Scotland, she was on the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health. Formally trained in biology, nutrition and epidemiology, her research aims to understand the human health co-benefits of sustainable food transitions. Examples of her team’s current projects include leading national diet assessments in Scotland, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the health effects of organic farming in India, and an Analytics Hub to support the implementation of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. Her work has been funded over the years by the National Institutes of Health, UK Research and Innovation, Wellcome Trust, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Royal Society of Edinburgh, among others.

Lindsay has published over 150 articles in leading health journals including The Lancet, JAMA and PLoS Medicine and has served as an expert advisor/commissioner on The Lancet Commission on Obesity, the National Diabetes Prevention Program Nutrition Convening by the CDC, and the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. She has also worked with the Scottish Government, the Ministry of Women and Child Development in India, and the Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh state governments in India. She has served as a consultant to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on nutritious food environments.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iEEgYBQAAAAJ&hl=en

X: @LindsayJaacks

Dustin Benton is policy director at Green Alliance, leading their work across energy, resources, and the natural environment, with a particular focus on getting on track to net zero emissions. Between 2020-21, he was on secondment with Defra, where he was chief analytical advisor to the National Food Strategy. Previously he led Green Alliance work in the Low Carbon Energy and Resource Stewardship themes, focusing on energy efficiency, renewables, and CCS, and was an expert commentator on resource risk, plastics, circular electronics and the EU-wide Alliance for Circular Economy Solutions. Before joining Green Alliance, Dustin worked for the Campaign to Protect Rural England where he led work on the relationship between landscape protection, climate change, and new energy infrastructure. He holds an MA in Political Thought and Theory from the University of Birmingham and an MA in International Relations and French from the University of St Andrews.