Amanda is a plant breeder with nine years of expertise in the field.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in agronomy, as well as a master’s and doctorate in crop science, with focus on plant breeding. She has previously conducted research and breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses in crops, particularly drought. Currently she leads the commercially funded breeding programmes at James Hutton Limited for blackcurrant, for both the processing and fresh markets (the ‘Ben’ series). Ensuring the sustainability of crop production in the face of climate change is one of the primary objectives. To achieve this, genetic and genomic tools developed at the Institute are utilized to identify plants with higher resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, which are crucial for consistent productive potential and meeting industry needs. Amanda is also responsible for redcurrant and other Ribes berries breeding programme grown under protection for fresh market