Biography
Ottoline Leyser is Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge. She has a long-term interest in science policy. From June 2020-2025 she served as CEO of UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s main public funder of Research and Innovation. She is particularly focused on making science more accessible and inclusive. She has for many years been involved in a wide range of activities aimed at breaking down the artificial barriers between science and wider society. Integral to this endeavour is work within the science community to drive changes in research culture. In 2017 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to plant science, science in society and equality and diversity in science.
