Gabrielle Persley has worked both as a researcher and as a senior strategic science leader, with some of the world's leading agricultural and development agencies, including several years as the Word Bank's Biotechnology advisor. Currently she is the Research Director of the Crawford Fund Australia, based at the Global Change Institute, University of Queensland. Professor Persley is also the Founder and Chair of the Doyle Foundation, Scotland, which advocates the role of science and technology in development, especially in Africa. She is a senior advisor to the International Livestock Research Institute and the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) in Kenya. Professor Persley has a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Queensland, based on her research on bacterial diseases of cassava in Africa. The University of Queensland awarded Professor Persley the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in 2014 for her work in international science and technology in relation to food security.

• Part I: Overview 1: Alexandria renaissance: The new life sciences and society Part II: The New Life Science and Sustainable Development 2: Science and the poor 3: Biotechnology and the war on poverty 4: Biotechnology and its application in agriculture and food production: The Egyptian experience 5: Biotechnology: The next wave of innovation technologies for sustainable development 6: Sustainable food security: Role of the private sector 7: Where the biotechnology industry is heading Part III: The New Life Sciences for Food and Agriculture 8: From molecular genetics to plants for the future 9: New biotechnology applications in fish 10: Biotechnology and smallholder agriculture in sub-saharan Africa 11: Biocontrol of potato bacterial wilt in Kenya 12: Arid lands experience: Crop improvement in dry areas 13: Intellectual property rights: Biotechnology and the gene revolution Part IV: The New Life Sciences for Human Health 14: Post-genomic health advances and its implications in developing countries 15: Novel approaches for vaccine development against trypanosomiasis in Africa 16: Developing and marketing of a salmonella-specific DNA diagnostic kit in Southern Africa 17: Globalization and access to biotechnology-derived health care products: A view from Egypt 18: Prevention of human infectious diseases in developing countries 19: International organizations and human health 20: Biotechnology: Perspectives of civil society Part V: The New Life Science for the Conservation of Natural Resources 21: Biotechnology: Driven by profit or searching for a better environment? 22: Adding value to Brazilian biodiversity through biotechnology Part VI: The Safe Use of New Biotechnologies 23: Scientific basis of biosafety risk assessments 24: Emerging regulatory regimes in South Africa 25: International harmonization in biosafety: The OECD experience Part VII: Public Perceptions 26: Regulating agricultural biotechnology: A consumer perspective 27: Public concerns about biotechnology 28: Perception and acceptance of biotechnology in some developing countries Part VIII: Toward New Partnerships 29: New partnerships to raise universal consciousness in the life sciences