Corinne Jud Khan named as new head of Agroscope
Berne, 27.08.2025 — Corinne Jud Khan is the new head of Agroscope, the federal research institute for the agriculture and food sector. The Federal Council was informed of the appointment at its meeting on 27 August. Corinne Jud Khan will take up her post on 1 March 2026, succeeding Eva Reinhard, who will retire at the end of February.
Corinne Jud Khan (1979 from eastern Switzerland) has been a member of Agroscope's Executive Board since 2017 and heads the Methods Development and Analytics Competence Division. She previously headed the Feed Analysis Division at Agroscope's predecessor institutions. She was also a member of the respective institute's management team.
Outstanding and well-connected scientist
Corinne Jud Khan received her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Fribourg in 2009. This was followed by post-doc and senior assistant positions at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg in the field of nanotechnology. In 2018, she completed an Executive MBA in Management & Corporate Finance at the University of Lausanne. Ms Jud Khan is very well connected in the national and international scientific community. Among other things, she is a member of the Institute Council of the Federal Institute of Metrology METAS and is on the Board of Directors of the Swiss Chemical Society.
Continuity in the management of Agroscope
A selection committee was set up to identify candidates to be the new head of Agroscope (see box). At the request of the selection committee and after consultation with Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Christian Hofer, Director of the Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG, has appointed Corinne Jud Khan as the new head of the Agroscope research institute. The appointment is a sign of Agroscope's continuous development. The focus will be on research into the agriculture and food sector as a whole, with a view to improving agricultural practices.
Corinne Jud Khan succeeds Eva Reinhard, who is retiring after many years in the Federal Administration and around eight years as head of Agroscope. The EAER would like to thank Eva Reinhard for her dedication. Together with the Executive Board, she has played a key role in shaping Agroscope's development into a dynamic research institute with close ties to the practical aspects of agriculture.
Federal centre of excellence
Agroscope employs around 1,100 people and conducts research along the entire value chain of the agriculture and food sector. The federal centre of excellence makes a significant contribution to sustainable agriculture and food production and to an intact environment. Agroscope is noted for its combination of research, policy advice, enforcement, knowledge exchange and technology transfer, as well as for linking research and practice.
Members of the selection committee
Nathalie Goumaz, Secretary General of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (Chair)
Christian Hofer, Director of the Federal Office for Agriculture
Dr Gabriele Schachermayr, Vice Director of the Federal Office for Agriculture
Prof Katharina Stärk, Head of Knowledge Foundations, member of the Executive Board, Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office
Dr Christoph Hegg, Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Dr Barbara Wieland, Head of the Institute of Virology and Immunology
Michel Darbellay, Executive Board of the Swiss Farmers' Union
Dr Willy Gehriger, former Director of Fenaco Cooperative