She is Head of the Stable Light Isotope Laboratory and Professor of Archaeological Science and Bioarchaeology at the University of Oxford.
[1] Lee-Thorp is most well known for her work on dietary ecology and human origins, using stable isotope chemistry to study fossil bones and teeth.
[3][4] Her doctoral thesis, titled "Stable carbon isotopes in deep time: the diets of fossil fauna and hominids," was completed in 1989 and demonstrated a method by which to significantly increase the applicable time-span of carbon isotopic analysis by using the mineral form of calcified animal tissue (apatite) as the sample material instead of traditionally used collagen.
[3] In 2005, she moved to the United Kingdom to take up the post of research director of Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bradford.
[10] In addition to diet, her more recent research has focused on the role of changing environment, climate, and farming techniques on ancient human societies.