Monique Sheelagh Jacquard Simmonds (born February 1950) is a British

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

who is deputy keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

. She has been involved in identifying plant-derived compounds in several criminal investigations. She is a Fellow of the

Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is a learned society devoted to the study of insects. It aims to disseminate information about insects and to improve communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological S ...

and the Royal Society of Biology.

Life

Simmonds earned her BSc at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

and her PhD in

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, University of London. Her doctoral thesis was on the subject of the parasitoids of

synanthropic A synanthrope (from ancient Greek σύν ''sýn'' "together, with" and ἄνθρωπος ''ánthrōpos'' "man") is an organism that evolved to live near humans and benefit from human settlements and their environmental modifications (see also ...

flies. Simmonds is deputy keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the

, and Director of the Commercial Innovation Unit. She is also Deputy Director of Science - Partnerships. She has worked at Kew Gardens since 1985. Simmonds research interests are in the economic uses of plants and fungi, and the uses of chemicals derived from plants and fungi. She is also involved in the identification of compounds derived from plants. Simmonds fundraised to create a collection of 7,000 specimens from Chinese medicine at Kew, and has been directing research aimed at using them to improve the safety of

Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. Simmonds has provided chemical botanical investigations in several criminal investigations. She was responsible for identifying the plant '' Gelsemium elegans'' as a possible cause of the poisoning of Alexander Perepilichny in 2015. Simmonds identified

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

in the food from Pret a manger eaten by Natasha Ednan-Laperouse before her allergic reaction and death in 2016. Simmonds is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, the World Innovation Foundation, the Royal Society of Biology, and the Linnean Society.

Selected publications

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References

External links

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Substantiating Botanical Safety & Sustainability
' with Prof Monique Simmonds, Ph.D., 8 March 2022, via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmonds, Monique Living people 21st-century British botanists Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of the University of Leeds Officers of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people) English women scientists 1950 births 20th-century British botanists 20th-century English botanists