Hannah McGrath, 27
PhD Student, Rothamsted Research
Meet the Scientist
“Science gave me an opportunity to have an impact on how we produce our food”
Hannah is based at the globally renowned Rothamsted Research working with Waitrose and commercial carrot growers to help protect the vegetables from nasty viruses which are transmitted by greenfly.
Working in fields which grow 13 million carrots destined for the supermarket, she is trialling the creation of special wildflower strips which attract insects that counteract viruses and encourage pollinators like butterflies and bees.
Hannah regularly visits the fields, talks to farmers about how to support wildlife and collects and analyses a lot of data. When she isn’t writing up her experiments she will go to conferences and training courses.
Her scientific work is a win-win for both farmers and the countryside as she helps make the business more environmentally friendly and profitable.