Elaine Fitches, PhD

Dr. Elaine Fitches is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biosciences, Durham University, UK. She is an applied entomologist with interests focused in the field of insect biotechnology, and has led research in projects investigating the potential use of insects for livestock nutrition.

As scientific coordinator of “PROteINSECT,” a EU funded program that investigated the potential of insects as a source of protein for animal feed, this multinational and multidisciplinary program provided scientific evidence that made a significant contribution towards the revision of legislation to allow insect protein to be used as a feed in aquaculture in 2017. She recently co-led the creation of an Insect Biomass Conversion Task & Finish Group Consensus document providing the evidence base to support the generation of an insect farming sector in the UK, which was submitted to the Agricultural Productivity Working Group in April 2019. Elaine has considerable experience in biochemistry, molecular biology and invertebrate physiology and has co-authored more than 50 scientific papers and 2 book chapters.