Professor Darren Griffin received his BSc and DSc from the University of Manchester and his PhD from UCL. After postdoctoral stints at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Cambridge, he landed his first academic post at Brunel University before settling at the University of Kent in 2004. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal Society of Biology, and the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce. He is President of the International Chromosome and Genome Society, organising its annual meeting, the International Chromosome Conference, in 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2022). Professor Griffin is a world leader in cytogenetics. He performed the first successful cytogenetic PGT and significantly developed Karyomapping, an approach now applied to cattle. In a 35+ year scientific research career, he has co-authored over 300 scientific publications, mainly on the cytogenetics of reproduction and evolution, recently providing insight into the karyotypes of dinosaurs. He is a prolific science communicator, making every effort to make scientific research publicly accessible and is an enthusiastic proponent of the benefits of interdisciplinary research. He has supervised over 40 PhD students to completion, and his work appears in the national and international news. He currently runs a vibrant research lab of ~20 people and maintains commercial interests in the outcomes of research findings, liaising with companies in the field.