Dr Melanie-Jayne Howes is the Senior Research Leader in Biological Chemistry, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

She currently lead Kew’s Science Strategy Initiative ‘Biointeractions and Bioactive Molecules’ (Priority 2) which aims to explore biological interactions and bioactive molecules to unlock the useful properties in plants and fungi.

Her own research is focused on investigating the chemistry and bioactive constituents of plants and fungi to understand the scientific basis for their uses, especially as medicines including for drug discovery.

Her research also includes scientific studies on edible plants to explore their uses as food and to understand how they may benefit human health, for example, their potential role in reducing dementia risk.

She uses techniques in natural product and analytical chemistry (including liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) to chemically characterise plants and fungi. This includes the comparative analysis of specimens in Kew’s extensive living and preserved collections to provide new insights into the chemical diversity of plants and fungi and further understanding of their potential sustainable uses.