Welcome to the 2^nd SCAR newsletter of 2024. You will read more about the latest news, events, publications, and networking possibilities regarding the SCAR network. 

The SCAR newsletter is prepared every six months and sent to subscribers. 

On Tuesday, 17^th September, the SCAR-Engage Programme celebrated a significant milestone with its first Launch Meeting, welcoming new SCAR Working Group (WG) members from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Iceland and Poland into the Programme. A RefreSCAR initiative, the SCAR-Engage Programme is designed to support and empower new SCAR WG members while increasing country-level visibility and inclusiveness within SCAR. Each year, new WG members will receive tailored assistance, including peer guidance, networking opportunities, country-specific action plans, and financial support for attending SCAR WG meetings.

The event opened with a warm introduction by John Bell, Director of Healthy Planet at the European Commission's DG Research & Innovation. Experienced SCAR WG members, Prof. Vladislav Popov and Stefano Grando, shared their insights on the importance and value of active SCAR membership. The Programme leaders, Olivera Stojilović Trivunić and Marina Arnaut Stefanović from Foodscale Hub, Serbia, detailed the programme’s key elements, supported by RefreSCAR colleagues. The Launch Meeting was held back-to-back with the 1^st Annual Training Webinar for new SCAR WG members organised by RefreSCAR on Wednesday, 18^th September. More than 40 people attended this online event, most of them “newcomers” to the SCAR world, from different countries and different SCAR groups. The presentations are available on the SCAR website.

The Call for Expressions of Interest for the second year of the SCAR-Engage Programme will soon be launched. Follow the RefreSCAR webpage and social media channels to stay up to date with the latest Programme advancements.

Co-Chair of the SCAR Agroecology Working Group

Claire Rogel-Gaillard is a senior scientist working at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE). She has been deputy scientific director for agriculture at INRAE since 2021, notably in charge of topics relating to sustainable livestock systems in a context of climate change and agroecological transition. Highly motivated by strengthening links between research and education, she has also been deputy director for research of the graduate school Biosphera at Paris-Saclay University since 2021. She leads the national programme “Agroecology and ICT” and promotes multidisciplinary projects on global one health concerns by fostering initiatives that connect scientific communities working on animals, humans, plants and the environment. She chaired the Veterinary Immunology Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies (2019-2023). In 2024, she participated in the preparation of the terms of reference for the next round of the SCAR Agroecology Working Group and is excited now to serve as co-chair.

Co-Chair of the SCAR Agroecology Working Group

Ulrich Schmutz is a professor at Coventry University in England, United Kingdom. He is a co-founder of the university’s research centres on agroecology (Centre for Agroecology and Food Security (CAFS) and Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) based at Ryton Organic Gardens, a 10 ha certified organic horticultural farm, which Coventry University bought in 2019. Ulrich is an agricultural and horticultural scientist and economist and has 35 years’ experience in organic horticulture, agroecology, agroforestry and food system transition research. He has been coordinating Horizon projects on organic farming and agroforestry and was a WP leader of AE4EU, which together with ALL-Ready prepared the €300M Agroecology Partnership and worked with the SCAR Agroecology Working Group in the first round. He is excited to co-chair the next round of SCAR-AE to mainstream agroecology further.

Co-Chair of the SCAR Agroecology Working Group

Marisa Tello has a PhD in Agricultural Engineering and has been working on scientific research for more than 30 years. She worked as principal researcher and Research Director at Madrid Institute of Agricultural Research. For the last 13 years, she has been working at the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA-CSIC, Spain) as Head of the Coordination in Agricultural and Forestry R&D Areas. Among her functions are the coordination and monitoring of research activities, scientific project evaluation and scientific-technical advice to Spanish policy-makers. In this regard, Marisa co-coordinates the scientific evaluation of supra-national innovation projects and operational groups of the EIP-AGRI. In addition, she is WP leader and National Coordinator within EJP SOIL and coordinates Spanish participation in the international Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, where she acts as Co-chair of the Science to Policy working group. Finally, she has been involved in the coordination of other EU initiatives such as PRIMA, ERA-NETs, EUPHRESCO and FACCE-JPI.

Co-Chair of the SCAR FISH Working Group

Andrea Marsella is a fish health veterinarian working at the Italian National Reference Laboratory for Fish Diseases hosted by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie. As a researcher in the Fish virology department, he is involved in several research as well as international capacity building projects focused on the diagnosis and vaccination of fish viral diseases. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the EU Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare and recently joined SCAR Fish as Co-chair.

Co-Chair of the SCAR Protein Task Force

Adeline Boire holds a MSc degree in Agricultural Science with a major in Food Science and Technology and a PhD in Physical Chemistry of proteins. Since 2015, Adeline has been a Research Scientist at INRAE (French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), coordinating and contributing to various large-scale national and European research projects. Her work bridges fundamental research and practical applications on food proteins, aiming to advance sustainable food systems. She explores resilient protein sources, including crop proteins, tropical pulses, and agro-industrial by-products, contributing to the diversification and sustainability of food systems. Beyond her research, Adeline is committed to outreach, engaging diverse audiences — from school students to the general public — to raise awareness about healthy and sustainable diets.

The SCAR Working Groups form an inspiring network of motivated peers. They offer unique platforms to develop R&I agendas, co-construct European R&I partnerships, and exchange experiences and best practices. There are currently nine SCAR Working Groups.

Seven Strategic Working Groups (SWGs) exist: Agroecology (AE), Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), European Agricultural Research towards greater impact on global Challenges (ARCH), Bioeconomy (BSW), Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (FISH), Food Systems (FS), Forest and Forestry Research and Innovation (FOREST) and two Collaborative Working Groups (CWGs): Animal Health and Welfare (AHW), Sustainable Animal Production (SAP). In addition, there are two Task Forces: Foresight and Protein.

The Protein Task Force have renewed their membership and organisation. They are programming next year planning and the scoping and roadmap are being updated consequently. The group is working on a concept note and resuming the related projects portfolio analysis with the RefreSCAR support by first half of 2025.
The group also welcomed a new Co-Chair to oversee activities alongside Pablo Gómez Grande (INIA-CSIC, Spain). Dr. Adeline Boire is a Research Scientist at INRAE (French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment). Her work bridges fundamental research and practical applications on food proteins, aiming to advance sustainable food systems.