Jane Blazeby is Professor of Surgery at Bristol University. She has been instrumental in transforming surgery so that research evidence and practice are part of everyday patient care. She successfully leads and delivers surgical trials by extensive engagement with surgeons of all specialties. She directs a Medical Research Council Hub for Trials Methodology Research and is co-director of the Royal College of Surgeons Trials Centre in Bristol. Professor Blazeby is chief investigator of the world’s largest trial in bariatric surgery and is mentoring a new generation of academic and NHS surgeons who understand and lead research, three of her lecturers successfully won Clinician Scientist awards, changing the culture of surgery.