About
CABI’s science centre at Egham was established in 1992, but CABI has had a scientific base in the UK since its very beginning. Over the years its work has supported hundreds of CABI projects and reached thousands of farmers in countries across the world. Much of the team’s current work is for national government departments, in particular Defra and DfID.
The centre, managed by Richard Shaw, CABI’s UK Country Director and Regional Coordinator for Invasives, operates across the globe providing support on a range of topics, including invasive species, pests and diseases, knowledge management and commodities.
Its scope is extensive – it carries out around 70 projects each year, which range from working to identify nematodes that are new to science in Chile, to seeking natural enemies for Europe and North America’s most invasive weeds.
With over 75 staff, a growing team of scientists carries out applied scientific research to find safe and sustainable solutions to problems in agriculture and the environment. An array of labs, glasshouses, poly tunnels and two level 2 quarantine suites with eight climate-controlled chambers, means the centre is perfectly equipped to work with almost any organism in the world, in ideal conditions.
The centre is also home to CABI’s Microbial services team. The team’s specialist staff provide microbial expertise, with particular emphasis on agricultural and biotechnological applications. Services provided include microbial identification, culture sales and deposit, environmental and industrial investigation, contract research and provision of publications and training. The team’s work is supported by the Genetic Resource collection on site, which holds cultures of 28,000 living micro-organisms.
The centre collaborates extensively with both public and private sector organizations, NGOs, universities, governments and many more, in order to work in the most effective and sustainable way.
Corporate office
CABI’s corporate office is home to over 140 staff working in Publishing, Sales and Customer Service, IT, Marketing, Finance, Project Development and Digital Development.
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Centre staff
Centre News & Blogs
New CABI research confirms presence of highly invasive apple snail in Kenya
25th March 2021
Documents
Progress with weed biocontrol projects - 2020
Since April 2011, Defra in partnership with the Welsh Government and Natural England has been funding specialist scientists to investigate the scope for biological control of invasive, non-native aquatic and riverside weeds. This is the eleventh in a series of annual summary notes on progress made and covers the time frame to the end of January 2020.
Progress with weed biocontrol projects - 2018
Since April 2011, the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been funding specialist scientists to investigate the scope for using biological control for invasive, non-native aquatic and riverside weeds. The technique has the potential to play an important role in protecting aquatic and riparian (riverbank) habitats where chemical and mechanical control options are impractical or prohibitively expensive. This work helps meet EU Water Framework Directive requirements. Download the 2018 report.
Related projects
Evaluation of fungal pathogens for biocontrol of cat’s claw creeper
Cat’s claw creeper is a vigorous vine native to tropical Central America and northern South America. Introduced into Australia for ornamental purposes, this troublesome liana escaped cultivation and is now regarded as a significant environmental weed.
Start:31/05/18 -End:30/06/21
