Dr Christos Gerofotis

For media enquiries please contact the Press Team
Lecturer
Faculty:
Faculty of Science and Engineering
School:
Writtle School of Agriculture, Animal and Environmental Sciences
Location:
Writtle
Areas of Expertise:
Sustainable agriculture , Smart vertical farming
Research Supervision:
Yes

Chris is a Lecturer in Agriculture and Horticulture with an extensive experience in both academia and industry, and core expertise in applied entomology. His work centres on harnessing nature-based and agri-tech solutions to tackle climate change and practical agricultural and horticultural challenges. Bridging traditional practices with innovation, he aims to build resilient, eco-friendly farming ecosystems that support communities and safeguard the planet.

Chris is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

[email protected]

View Chris' ORCID profile

Background

Through a diverse career spanning academia and industry, Chris brings a wealth of expertise in agriculture and horticulture, alongside applied entomology. Following extensive PhD and postdoctoral research in insect behaviour and ecology, Chris subsequently moved into industry, where he served as an Experimental Director, leading field and laboratory trials, environmental assessments, and commercially driven research, until joining Writtle in 2019.

His current research at ARU in Writtle involves interdisciplinary studies with people from academia and industry in the fields of biodiversity and pollinator health, insect farming, soil and water management, seeking to address global challenges in food production, biodiversity conservation, and environmental stewardship while advancing practical applications in agriculture and horticulture.

Spoken Languages
  • English
  • French (intermediate)
  • Greek (first language)
Research interests
  • Sustainable food systems and climate-resilient agriculture
  • Insect biology/ecology and their sustainable management, biodiversity and insect farming as alternative source of animal feed
  • Agri-tech and resource management, such as smart farming technologies (e.g. optimising water use and soil health) for efficient and sustainable farming
  • Nature-Based Solutions & ecosystem resilience towards assessing agricultural impacts and applying nature-based strategies to build resilient agroecosystems
Areas of research supervision

Chris welcomes enquiries from undergraduate and postgraduate students wishing to undertake research in his areas of interest, related fields, or other topics of shared interest.

Teaching

Chris leads various modules as part of:

Qualifications
  • PG Cert in Higher Education Practice (University of Essex, UK)
  • PhD in Entomology (University of Thessaly, Greece)
  • MSc in Plant Protection (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
  • Integrated Master in Plant Protection (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
  • Bachelor in Agriculture (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
Memberships, editorial boards
  • Worshipful Company of Fruiterers
  • Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB)
  • Working Group on Tephritids of Europe, Africa and the Middle East (TEAM)
  • Hellenic Entomological Society
Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange
  • Knowledge exchange: Investigating the Presence and Fate of Microplastics in Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Rearing Systems. 2024-25, £3K. Principal Investigator.
  • Knowledge exchange – HE: (Harnessing black soldier fly to accelerate transition to an ethical circular economic model at WUC) with industry partner involved. 2023, £23K. Principal Investigator.
  • Knowledge exchange – HE: (Developing water management solutions to adapt to climate change challenges), with industry partner Irrigation, Solar, Attenuation and Harvest (Envirocore-ISAH). 2023, £12K. Principal Investigator.
  • Knowledge exchange – HE: (Feeding the Future: Developing the production of invertebrates for feed) with industry partner involved. Co-applicant.
  • NFU student-research led project (Examining a Transition Model to Regenerative Agriculture). £36K. Academic Advisor.
Selected recent publications

Ranasingha, R., Perera, A., Baghalian, K. and Gerofotis, C. (2024) 'Amino acid-based biostimulants and microbial biostimulants promote the growth, yield and resilience of strawberries in soilless glasshouse cultivation', Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, 3(3), e12113. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/sae2.12113

Gerofotis C. D., Kouloussis, N. A., Damos, P., Koukougianidou, C., Papadopoulos, N. T., Koveos D. S. and Carey, J. (2019) 'Age, sex, adult and larval diet shape starvation resistance in the Mediterranean fruit fly; insights for ecologists and gerontologists', Scientific Reports, 9, 10704. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47010-0

Kouloussis N. A., Gerofotis, C. D., Ioannou C. S., Iliadis I. V., Papadopoulos N. T. and Koveos D. S. (2017) 'Towards improving Sterile Insect Technique: exposure to orange oil compounds increases sexual signaling and longevity in Ceratitis capitata males of the Vienna 8 GSS', PLoS ONE, 12(11). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188092

Gerofotis, C. D., Ioannou, C. S., Nakas, C. T. and Papadopoulos, N. T. (2016) 'The odor of a plant metabolite affects life history traits in dietary restricted adult olive flies', Scientific Reports, 6, 28540. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep28540

Gerofotis, C. D., Yuval, B., Ioannou, C. S., Nakas, C. T. and Papadopoulos, N. T. (2015) 'Polygyny in the olive fly—effects on male and female fitness', Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 69(8), pp. 1323-1332. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-015-1945-6

Gerofotis, C. D., Ioannou, C. S. and Papadopoulos, N. T. (2013) 'Aromatized to find mates: α-pinene aroma boosts the mating success of adult olive fruit flies', PloS One, 8(11), e81336. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0081336