Ottoline Leyser

Ottoline Leyser is a Regius Professor of Botany and CEO of UK Research and Innovation (2020-2025) at the University of Cambridge. She has held leadership roles as Director and Associate Director of the Sainsbury Laboratory and been a Fellow of Clare College since 2012. Previously, she was a Professor, Reader, and Lecturer at the University of York (1994-2010) and conducted post-doctoral research at Indiana University and the University of Cambridge.

Research Interests: Her work focuses on shoot branching plasticity, plant hormone signalling, and plant developmental genetics, exploring molecular mechanisms governing plant growth and adaptation.

Scientific Awards:

• Society for Experimental Biology President’s Medal (2000)
• Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award (2007)
• Member of EMBO (2007)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2009)
• ERC Advanced Grant (2012)
• FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award (2017)
• British Society for Developmental Biology Waddington Medal (2020)

Leadership & Funding: She has received 32 awards totaling €13.5 million, including an ERC Advanced Grant, and served on international committees such as ERC grant panels and the International Plant Molecular Biology Council.