Stuk AUD/2/2 - Interview with Judith Irwin

Extent: 2 audio files and paperwork

Interview with Judith Irwin conducted by Sarah Wilmot (JIC Outreach Curator). Audio file (Irwin 081228-001master.wav), 46.36 minutes. The interview covers Irwin's early life, career and work at the JIC on crop genetics and molecular plant breeding, including her work on the GM debates and development of climate resistant vegetables.

Admin History: Dr Judith Irwin (b Dec 1969-) British Crop Geneticist, PhD St Andrews, student placement with Brian Snoad at the PBI, joined the JIC in 1992 in the Brassicas and Oil Seeds Department (which became the Crop Genetics Dept.). She initially worked on the risk assessment programme for Genetic Modification (GM) and the public GM debates with Philip Dale. In 1998 she started work on the BRACT programme (Biotechnology Resources for Arable Crop Transformation), developing transformative systems in brassicas using agrobacterium. Her work on the flowering time genes in brassica led in 2017 to the development of a new line of climate resilient, fast-growing sprouting broccoli which could double the amount of the crop that can be produced from a field in one season.