Communicating Complex Science Simply
Vision
Marry the Science of Farming, Food & Health
Qualifications
BSc-Microbiology
PhD-Ruminant Nutrition
Awards
Winner of Inaugural RDS Sustainable Agri Start-Up Award 2022
European Communications Award for ‘Communication to the Public’
Dr. Vanessa Woods is a Scientist and award-winning Consumer Engagement Professional.
She holds a PhD in Ruminant Nutrition from University College Dublin and BSc in Microbiology from University College Galway.
Data from her PhD studies formed an integral component of the Irish Net Energy Feeding System.
Vanessa holds a European Communications Award for ‘Communication to the Public’.
She also won the Inaugural Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Award for ‘Sustainable Agri Start-Up’ for her business, Vanessa B. Woods Communications, at the RDS Spring Awards 2022.
As founder and Chief Executive of Ireland’s first Science Communications Consultancy, ‘Vanessa B. Woods Communications’, Vanessa works with Government Bodies, Industry Leaders and Education Professionals, translating science into accurate and engaging messages, stories and strategies.
With a Mission Statement to ‘Communicate Complex Science Simply’ and a Vision to ‘Marry the Science of Farming, Food and Health’, science communication consultancy services are offered to the Agri-Food, Health, Energy and Education sectors.
Vanessa worked with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Northern Ireland as a Senior Scientist for 10 years, in the areas of:
- Carbon Footprinting
- Horizon Scanning & Global Research
- Grassland Research
- Dairy Cow Data Modelling
She published numerous peer-reviewed Scientific Papers and Technical Reports for the agri-food industry. Click here for publications
Working as an Expert Evaluator with the European Commission, Vanessa evaluates Horizon Europe funding proposals in the area of sustainable farming and food.
Vanessa joined the independent consumer engagement body, Agri Aware, as its first female Chief Executive in 2011. With a Mission Statement to ‘Improve the image and understanding of farming and the agri-food industry among the general public’, she won Agri Aware’s first and only European Communications Award since its establishment in 1996, for ‘Communication to the Public’. She bid for and secured funding from the European Commission over five consecutive years, engaging consumers in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Vanessa won the Inaugural Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ‘Sustainable Agri Start-Up’ Award for her novel Science Communications Consultancy business, Vanessa B. Woods Communications in 2022. Click here to see a video of her award.
Vanessa is author of ‘Irish Food, From A-Z’ and ‘Northern Ireland: Our Food, Our Story’, science-based illustrated books of poetry that tell the story of farming, food, culture and health. Her educational books are now in every primary school on the Island of Ireland as part of curriculum-linked education. You can purchase her books here.
Vanessa was appointed as the first Chair of Examiners for the new GCSE in Agriculture and Land Use in Northern Ireland, working with the Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).