Organizing Committee Member
Dr. Monique Simmonds
Deputy Director of Science
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
England
Biography
Prof. Monique Simmonds OBE, BSc, PhD, is Deputy Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research draws on a long-standing interest in plant-animal interactions and the chemistry and economic uses of plants. Her current research is on the economic uses of plants/fungi, in particular their potential as pharmaceutical leads, especially anti-biotics, as well as uses in over–the-counter products such as cosmetics. This involves studying the chemistry of plants and fungi, the biological activities of extracts and isolated compounds, and using the new DNA based phylogenies to assist the selection of species for containing compounds that could be of use in the creation of new cosmetics. In many cases she is capturing the knowledge as to how plants protect themselves from UV damage, oxidative and water stress and using this knowledge to identify plant compounds that could provide a similar type of protection in human skin.
Research Area
Prof. Simmonds is interested in the development of chemical and DNA authentication methods to check the quality of plant-derived products being sold as medicines, cosmetics and functional foods. These projects often involve the development of benefit-sharing strategies with collaborators and supporting plant conservation in developing countries.