Kathy Willis

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Professor Katherine (Kathy) J. Willis is Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where she spearheaded the launch of Kew's Science Strategy 2015-2020. Kathy is also Professor of Biodiversity in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford and an adjunct Professor in Biology at the University of Bergen. She previously held the Tasso Leventis Chair of Biodiversity at Oxford and was founding Director of the Biodiversity Institute.

Kathy's research interests focus on the relationship between long-term ecosystem dynamics and environmental change. Kathy has published extensively and has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific publications, including the landmark book The Evolution of Plants, now in its second edition.

In August 2015, Kathy was awarded the prestigious Michael Faraday Prize from the Royal Society for her excellent work in science communication. She is the author of Plants: From Roots to Riches and Botanicum (part of the Welcome to the Museum series).

Nationality: British