Professor Maria Makrides is the Executive Director of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). She was previously Deputy Director of SAHMRI and the Theme Leader for SAHMRI Women and Kids. As a clinical nutritionist, Maria is committed to improving the nutrition and health of mothers and their babies through the conduct and translation of high quality research. She has over 300 peer reviewed publications. Maria's work has been responsible for changes in international policy regarding the safe composition of infant foods, national and international guidance on diet and supplementation during pregnancy, and infant feeding guidelines to minimise the risk of childhood allergies. She is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science.  Maria was awarded South Australian Scientist of the Year in 2022.