Women in Life Sciences

Professor of Plant Physiology and Director of Essex Plant Innovation Centre

Professor Tracy Lawson is the School's Director of Impact and is involved in undergraduate teaching in plant biology. She has over 20 years’ research experience in plant physiology with research interests in photosynthesis and stomatal physiology. She has been PI and Co-PI on research projects funded by NERC, BBSRC, and the EU and supervises a research laboratory of post-doctoral researchers, technicians and PhD students. She is an author or co-author on over 100 peer-reviewed research papers and book chapters. She is an adjunct professor at Vellore Institute of Technology, India as well as a Gatsby Plant Science Mentor.

Professor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)

Christine is our Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), our former Head of School, and the University’s Director of Athena SWAN. She holds a number of prestigious external roles including Editor in Chief, Journal of Experimental Botany. Her research interests are in the areas of photosynthesis, genetic manipulation of carbon metabolism, field studies on the impact of elevated CO2 on carbon fixation and on acclimatory responses of diatoms.

Lecturer

Michelle’s research interests span the molecular to the ocean-level and have included studies on shallow and deep-water coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass. Her main focus is the deep-sea and its many and varied benthic habitats. The deep-sea is the largest habitat on the planet and arguably the least well known. Broadly she is interested in deep-sea ecosystems, exploring them, what drives their biodiversity, and how we can limit human impacts in vulnerable habitats such as coral reefs, hydrothermal vents, and seamounts.

Senior Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology

Dr Corinne Whitby is very active in the promotion of women in science, and has contributed to several outreach activities to promote women in science including the development of the School’s Women in Life Science (WILS) webpage and the Biology for Schools Day. In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, Corinne is the founder and co-organiser of the successful ISMOS (International Symposium on Applied Molecular Microbiology in Oil systems) symposium series which brings together academia and industry.