Jason Wargent

Jason Wargent is Chief Science Officer and technical founder of BioLumic. In addition to leading the science vision and science team at BioLumic, he drives core components of the company’s IP strategy. Jason is a world-leading plant UV photobiologist, with more than 15 years of research know-how in the space. His industry-sponsored PhD from Lancaster University, UK, delivered fundamental scientific and tech-transfer insights for the application of UV photobiology for agronomic gains, and he received a letter of commendation on behalf of the UK Horticulture industry. During his PhD, Jason also led a team of researchers through the UK Biotechnology YES competition, mentored by the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Lancaster. He then taught biology and evolution at Lancaster, and carried out industry-funded post-doctoral work that led to the development of key mechanistic insights behind the efficacy of a novel and sustainable crop enhancement product for a UK PLC. Jason then took up a faculty position at Massey University, New Zealand, in 2010, leading to appointment as Associate Professor. The recipient of numerous research excellence and research funding awards, including from the prestigious Marsden Fund of New Zealand, Jason is an invited reviewer for the United Nations Environmental Programme, and is deeply committed to developing novel world-changing technologies for agriculture.