Plenary keynote speakers and moderators

Plenary keynote speakers

Patrick Okori

Patrick Okori is currently the Executive Secretary of Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 175 Universities in 40 countries of Africa. Patrick is an Agriculture Science and education expert and leader. Patrick Received his PhD at the SLU,-Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Uppsala Sweden and both Masters and bachelors degrees at Makerere University, Uganda. Through his carrier Patrick has previously served as Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences at Makerere University; the Deputy Director of the Global Research Programme on Accelerated Crop Improvement at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Patrick has graduated over 50 PhD and MSc Students and is widely published. He has commercialized over 30 varieties of legumes and cereals, that are widely grown in eastern and southern Africa. As a science leader he revamped and strengthened crop breeding and research programmes in eastern and southern Africa.

Patrick is a thought leader who has been involved in high level planning, strategy and visioning for national, regional as well as continental to global agencies. Early in his career, Patrick was part of the team that developed the Eastern Africa's premier agriculture, bio-policy and bio-innovation research programme, called BIOINNOVATE.

Erik Alexandersson

Erik Alexandersson holds a PhD in biochemistry from Lund University, Sweden, with a focus on plant molecular biology. He did his postdoctoral studies at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, where he collaborated on research into plant–pathogen interactions and field crops. He is a formerly associate professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), where he led projects focused on plant health, crop biofortification and the application of omics technologies in crop improvement, focusing both on the Global North and the Global South. He also has a background as an in-house editor at open-access publisher BioMed Central.

Currently, Erik serves as a senior research manager at the Novo Nordisk Foundation, where he leverages his scientific expertise to support research and innovation in plant science, breeding and biotechnology. His role involves strategic funding initiatives aimed at addressing global challenges in agriculture, food security, and environmental sustainability. With a strong background in academic research and a growing presence in science policy and funding, Erik is committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that drive transformative change and solutions.

Meet the moderator and co-moderators

Heather Mackay

Heather Mackay is a geographer based at the Department of Human Geography, Lund University, Sweden, working at the intersection of agriculture, food, and urban life in the Global South. She completed a bachelors in Geography from Aberdeen University, Scotland, a Masters in Rural Resources and Environmental Management from Imperial College London; and a Masters in Spatial Planning and Development from Umeå University, Sweden.

She worked 10 years in international development in the UK, USA and Ghana before returning to academia. Her doctoral research investigated transitions at the nexus of urbanisation, food environments, and health in Uganda. Heather works across a mix of methods including spatial, qualitative, and quantitative.

Matthew Kessler

Matthew Kessler is a food systems podcaster, science communicator and project coordinator at SLU. Matthew has worked with farmers in North Carolina, New York, Hawai'i, Nepal, and Norway, with a BSc in Environmental Sciences and MSc in Agroecology.

Over the past 15 years, he has worked on farms and in kitchens, labs and classrooms - and most recently in recording studios - to better understand and communicate what is a 'good’, just and resilient future for food.