Kathy Willis

Professor Kathy Willis is the Professor of Biodiversity in the Department of Biology and Principal of St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford. She is also a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords and former Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research focuses on plant biodiversity responses to climate change, ecosystem services, and biodiversity-human health linkages. Notably, she co-led the Global Assessment of Biodiversity for the IPBES and authored the Michael Faraday Medal-winning BBC series From Roots to Riches.

Research Interests:

• Climate & Biodiversity: Long-term plant responses to environmental drivers, including climate change impacts on tropical forests and dipterocarp resilience.
• Ecosystem Services: Quantifying CO₂ sequestration, flood protection, and water regulation services, with emphasis on soil carbon mapping and rewilding efficacy.
• Health & Nature: Investigating sensory interactions with nature for mental health benefits and mosquito-borne disease mitigation via acoustic surveillance (HumBug project).

Public Engagement: Willis has presented on BBC programs such as Extinction: The Facts and authored books like Good Nature: The New Science of How Nature Improves Our Health. Her work bridges science communication and policy, including roles on the UK’s Natural Capital Committee.

Awards:

• Michael Faraday Medal (2015) for science communication.

Labs & Initiatives: Leads the Oxford Long-Term Ecology Lab and collaborates on global biodiversity projects like State of the World’s Plants and State of the World’s Fungi.