They married after graduation in 1958 and she went to the University of Michigan to work as a teaching fellow and complete a research PhD on the study of wasps.
[3] After the doctorate Owen took up teaching positions from 1962 in Makerere University, Uganda and Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone as well as Sweden.
On her return to the department of zoology with University of Leicester in 1971 she noticed the huge number of insects in her garden in the United Kingdom compared to those in Africa and the study began.
She worked as a zoology museum curator and university lecturer, however she is now a wheelchair user due to the impact of multiple sclerosis.
[4] Owen won the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture in 2010.