People

We are a diverse group of interdisciplinary researchers from a range of backgrounds, working on a range of issues in food production and consumption.

  • Lead investigators

    Professor Rachel Ankeny

    		 Professor Rachel A. Ankeny leads the Food Values Research Group and is an interdisciplinary teacher and scholar whose areas of expertise cross three fields: history/philosophy of science, bioethics and science policy, and food studies.
    Dr Emily Buddle Dr Emily Buddle has a background in agricultural and animal science and in internet communications. She completed her PhD on the ARC Linkage “Getting to the meat of the matter: Social and economic issues in animal welfare in Australia’s livestock industry” and is now a Research Fellow within the School of Humanities, working with the Food Values Research Group and the ARC Centre for Future Crops Development. In her spare time Emily helps to manage a 12,000 acre property with her partner in the mid-north region of South Australia. Emily can be found on Twitter @EmilyBuddle.

  • University of Adelaide collaborators

    Dr Lenka Malek

    		 Dr Lenka Malek's qualitative and quantitative research expertise covers a wide range of domain areas including but not limited to: changing protein consumption patterns, alternative protein products, lab-grown meat, food preferences, food recalls and food safety perceptions, food insecurity, environmental impact, sustainability, COVID-related dietary changes, dietary supplement use, food fortification, adherence to dietary recommendations, dietary intake during pregnancy, infant formula purchase and preparation decisions, and health care provider practices.
    Dr Michelle Phillipov Dr Michelle Phillipov’s work is driven by an interest in the pleasures and politics of popular cultural forms. Her research looks at the rise of popular food politics and, in particular, of how media’s intensified interest in the politics of food is shaping public debate about the provenance of food and the ethics of food production, as well as impacting on media, food and agricultural industry practices. She is the author or editor of five books, including Digital Food TV (Routledge), Media and Food Industries: The New Politics of Food (Palgrave Macmillan), Fats: A Global History (Reaktion Books) and Alternative Food Politics: From the Margins to the Mainstream (Routledge, co-edited with Katherine Kirkwood).
    Associate Professor Carolyn Semmler Associate Professor Carolyn Semmler leads the Applied Cognition and Experimental Psychology (ACEP) research group, focusing on the application of theories and models of cognition, judgement and decision-making to legal and medical contexts. The ACEP research group is interested in understanding human interaction with intelligent agents and the development of human-machine interfaces for defence and national security. Their work is driven by human rights and the value of reducing harm to humans through technology and innovation.
    Dr Alexandra Whittaker Dr Alexandra Whittaker is a veterinary scientist, lawyer, and behavioural neuroscientist. She is a dual veterinary specialist in animal welfare science, ethics and law, and laboratory animal science through the UK certification authority. Alex has significant research expertise in applied animal behaviour and welfare assessment of animals, and leads an independent research group working on multiple projects in these areas. Her current research involves investigating emotional states in animals, with a specific focus on identifying positive states. She is also involved in developing welfare assessment methodologies.

  • External collaborators
    Dr Heather Bray Dr Heather Bray is a Senior Lecturer in Science Communication in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia. Her research explores community understandings of, and attitudes to, the role of science and technology in food production, in particular genetically-modified crops and food, and farm animal welfare. She can be found on Twitter @heatherbray6.
    Professor Joan Leach Professor Joan Leach is Director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University. Her research and teaching centres on theories of the public in science communication, language and rhetoric in science (both in public and in technical contexts), and the challenge of ethics in science communication.

    Professor Kate Millar

    		 Professor Kate Millar is Director of the Centre for Applied Bioethics and Professor of Applied Bioethics at the University of Nottingham. Her research interests fall under four main areas: Biotechnology Assessment; Bioethical Analysis; Animal, Agriculture and Food Ethics; Public and Stakeholder Engagement.
    Professor Sujatha Raman Professor Sujatha Raman is Director of Research at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (Australian National University). Trained in science and technology studies (STS), she is exploring the contribution that science communication research and practice can make to science, technology and innovation in the public good.

  • Postgraduate research students
    Christina Wenzl Christina Wenzl is undertaking a PhD within the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development and is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in food and dietary behaviour, focusing on urban (plant-based) food sustainability. She is enthusiastic about interdisciplinary and collaborative research that includes the humanities, social and natural sciences alike, as well as its communication. 
    Natalia Ciecierska-Holmes Natalia Ciecierska-Holmes is on a joint PhD program between the University of Adelaide and the University of Nottingham. For this project, she is combining research interests in food politics, human-animal relations and ethical consumption. Her recent studies have focused on agri-food systems and feminist political ecology, examining production-consumption linkages, alternative food networks and human-nature relations.
    Imogen Barker Imogen Barker is on a joint PhD program between the University of Adelaide and the University of Nottingham. Her background is in Biological Sciences, personal care new product development & innovation, photography and digital creative work. Her research explores the use of innovative immersive technologies, such as Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality, to connect consumers with their food. The project is a collaboration between Sensory Science and Computer Science, exploring wine consumption within different virtual consumption contexts.
    Selina Kuo Selina Kuo has dabbled in mass communications (film and journalism), cultural studies, gender studies, gastronomy and commercial cookery. Before becoming a full-time PhD student researching the history of imitation foods, she worked as a book editor of general reference titles and cookbooks for six years, and as a line cook in a variety of commercial kitchens for another six years.
    Kelly McKinley Kelly McKinley has a background in agricultural and secondary food production and sustainability education; her interests include food systems, food ethics and culture, rural sociology, social movements, and history and philosophy of science. She is a PhD candidate researching the history of public responses to genetic modification in food and agriculture in Australia.