Professor Margaret Gill (Maggie) started her career as an animal nutritionist, studying agricultural science in Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD from Massey University, New Zealand, in sheep nutrition. Her research career progressed through dairy cow nutrition, interactions between agriculture and the environment and food systems to global food security. Her 40 year career was split almost evenly between conducting research, managing research programme funding and advising research funders, in the UK , New Zealand, European Commission and, for international development, the World Bank and various national, international development departments. She was the first Chief Scientific Adviser on Rural Affairs and the Environment in the Scottish Government from 2006 to 11 and Chair of the CGIAR Independent Science Partnership Council from 2014 to 19 both of which inspired an interest in the science/policy interface. She currently chairs both the Scottish Science Advisory Council and BBSRC’s Sustainable Agriculture and Food Strategy Panel. She is a Trustee of the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines and the African Agriculture Technology Foundation. She is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen, currently living in rural Aberdeenshire.