Professor John Beddington was appointed as Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) on 1 January 2008. John's main research interests are the application of biological and economic analysis to problems of Natural Resource Management including inter alia: fisheries, pest control, wildlife management and the control of disease. He has been at Imperial College since 1984, where he headed the main departments dealing with environmental science and technology. He was promoted to Reader in 1987 and was Professor of Applied Population Biology until his appointment as GCSA.