Richard Buggs

Professor Richard Buggs is an evolutionary biologist and molecular ecologist affiliated with the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary University of London and serves as a Senior Research Leader (Plant Health and Adaptation) at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His research focuses on plant genomics, speciation, and adaptation to climate change, pests, and pathogens, particularly in trees like ash, oak, and birch. He established the Centre for Forest Protection through collaborative work with Forest Research.

His research spans evolutionary processes such as hybridisation, polyploidy, and genetic resistance to diseases like ash dieback and acute oak decline. He also investigates Darwin’s “abominable mystery” of flowering plant origins.

Scientific Awards:

• Fellow of the Linnean Society
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology
• Betula buggsii named in his honor

Education:

• MA in Natural Sciences (Cambridge University)
• DPhil in Evolutionary Genetics (Oxford University)

Advising: Supervises PhD students Louise Gathercole, Rowena Hill, Gabriele Nocchi, and William Plumb, while former student Nian Wang has contributed to taxonomy.