What led you to pursuing a PhD at JIC?

For my undergraduate degree I studied agronomy in Chile, intending to blend biology with an applied career. I fell in love with genetics, which brought me to the John Innes Centre.

What research did you undertake during your PhD?

My goal was to clone a gene from Arabidopsis involved in producing glucosinolates. These compounds, found in cruciferous vegetables, help protect crops against pests. They may also play a role in preventing cancer in humans when eaten, sparking my interest in using plants to improve nutrition and health.

At that time, during a DNA extraction, you could see DNA for a couple of seconds. Experiencing that for the first time was an epiphany and, alongside successfully cloning the target gene, it was the highlight of my PhD.

I was fortunate to work with two brilliant minds who were always open to sharing their knowledge and insights: Professors Caroline Dean FRS and Richard Mithen. Learning in this intellectually rewarding environment had a huge impact on me.

Where did your career take you next?

I began working at INIA, Chile’s National Institute of Agricultural Research, before working on corn at Pioneer Hi Bred International. I knew nothing about the crop, but my time at JIC gave me the right mindset to become a corn geneticist.

After working internationally on corn and sugar cane, I joined the International Potato Centre (CIP) in 2016. Here, our job is not only to develop better crop varieties, but also to improve lives and livelihoods, beyond agriculture and nutrition. Understanding genetics and climate resilience is a means to an end – it is all about improving quality of life for farmers and consumers.

How do you make this mission a reality?

What I really love is talking with people. Human interaction is priceless and allows you to understand the main challenges facing each individual and community.

That craving for human connection is why I spend as much time ‘on the ground’ as I can; I know I am not clever enough to figure it all out from my office.

In the field you pick up critical knowledge that you can’t get from a paper.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?

My proudest moment is yet to come.

We have developed iron-biofortified potatoes, which will play a major and affordable role in decreasing global levels of anaemia.

I am also very grateful to the World Food Prize Foundation for naming me a ‘Top Agri-Food Pioneer’. It is recognition of my team, my research partners across the world, and my training at the John Innes Centre.

Do you have any advice for JIC staff and students?

Be bold! Tell your story to the world and enable others! A major source of joy in my job has been that over 1,100,000 copies of my published books have been downloaded or sold.