Steve is Principal Scientist Plant Biology Institute & Member of the Board of Directors at EIT. Steve is also Professor of Plant Science in the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford and co-founder and chief scientific officer of Wild Bioscience Ltd, a spin-out from the University of Oxford that harnesses insights from the vast genomic resources of wild plants to improve yield in the worlds most important crops.

With a background in genomics, plant science and evolutionary biology, Steve has played a key role in driving the application of comparative genomics to unlock the genetic basis of evolutionary innovation. From developing the software tools and conceptual frameworks that facilitate this discovery, to identifying and harnessing the sequence changes that drive phenotypic change in plants. Steve has had central roles in multiple crop improvement projects in both commercial and academic contexts and has made contributions to environmental sustainability of scientific publication.

Steve has worked on challenges from dissecting the molecular basis of variation in productivity in plants, to the evolution of diverse biochemical pathways and using genetic data to drive innovation in technology and crop improvement. He is author of over 100 scientific articles and multiple patents.