Honorary Fellow at the James Hutton Institute and Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of St Andrews, UK

Lesley has a PhD and DSc in plant virology and has published extensively in this field.  Later in her career, she led and participated in multidisciplinary research projects in plant and crop science, in particular potato systems research, in many countries including in Europe, China, Malawi and Kenya.  

Lesley retired from her role as Executive Director of Science at The James Hutton Institute in 2024.  In that role she was responsible for the strategic direction and delivery of research on crop and environmental sciences and executive team lead responsible for science excellence and research impact.

She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's National Academy, and was elected to the RSE Council in 2025.  She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology .

Term ends: 20/09/2028