Judy Chambers

Bio

Judith Chambers is the Director for the Program for Biosafety Systems in the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. Her international team supports interested partner countries in Africa and Asia on the technical development and implementation of evidence-based biosafety systems and independent decision-making for the use of precision genetics to support innovative agriculture research and products.

Dr. Chambers began her professional journey with a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied the molecular action of various animal viruses related to HIV. Her postdoctoral studies were conducted at an entrepreneurial biotech company, where she focused on agriculture applications and specifically on the molecular characterization of Bt genes (CryIF) for insect pest control. For the next two decades, she served in various public and private sector positions where she developed and managed initiatives to ensure that the opportunities of biotechnology could be applied to the agricultural issues facing many developing countries. She served as the Senior Biotechnology Advisor at USAID and co-developed the first public-private sector initiative on agriculture biotechnology to support developing country agriculture needs. At a former private agriculture biotechnology company, she served as Director for International Government Affairs and supported the company’s philanthropic efforts to share its proprietary technology with resource poor, small-scale farmers who work every day to bridge the food security gap.

Dr. Chambers has devoted her career to ensuring that the technical and policy systems are in place to expand farmer choice and technology access. Her long history of involvement with agriculture biotechnology and development has provided her with a reflective global insight on how evidence-based decision-making supports agricultural genetic innovations on behalf of resource poor farmers and consumers.

Events

IFPRI at External Event

April 30, 2026, 8:30 – 6:30 pm

AI for Food Security Forum

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Food Security Forum, brings together U.S. and global policymakers, technology developers, financers, researchers, and implementing partners working at the forefront of AI for food security. Join CSIS, and the member organizations of the AI Collaborative: Food Security, for cross-cutting discussions that explore the promises and risks of AI-enabled technologies for food […]

2018 International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research Conference (ICABR)

IFPRI at External Event

June 12 to 15, 2018

2018 International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research Conference (ICABR)

IFPRI is participating extensively in the International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR) conference. Multiple changes in the structure of the food system and agriculture raise new opportunities and challenges for the agricultural sector. In the developing world, these changes started in Asia and Latin America, and are rapidly emerging in Africa. Urbanization and increased urban […]