Prof. Neena Mitter is the founding Director of both the QAAFI Centre for Horticultural Science and the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformational Research HUB for Sustainable Crop Protection at The University of Queensland (UQ). Neena's career and passion for delivering real-world outcomes have received recognitions such as a Fellowship to the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Young Scientist Award from the Prime Minister of India, the Queensland International Fellowship, the Gates Grand Challenges Explorations Award and Women in Technology Outstanding Life Sciences Award. Neena is continually driven by the realization of agriculture's significance in shaping the world, economically, socially, environmentally and politically. Neena has served as an invited member of the Federal Government's Decadal Plan for Agriculture and was invited to the OECD summit to develop policy and risk assessment guidelines on RNA-based pesticides. She is an active Deputy member of the National Leadership Council on Cultural Diversity.