[1] Her detection method is now used worldwide[2] and was used by the World Health Organization to develop drinking water safety standards,[2] scientists are trained in it from Sri Lanka to fish farms in Scotland, and Lawton is investigating potential cancer treatments[3] and positive uses such as digesting waste plastics in microbiology.
She became group research leader at Robert Gordon University (RGU) Aberdeen in 1994, and Full Professor in 2007,[2] and is widely cited[7][8] with substantial network of international collaborators including commercial partnerships.
She has 159 publications to date with 5985 citations,[6] and has been invited to write book chapters and present to learned societies and research conferences globally.
[2] Lawton's research has been reported both in local press[3][9] and nationally recognised in a political magazine as leading one of the breakthrough projects in Scotland,[10] and also gave 'fun' science communications on biochemistry.
[11] Her formal list of research funding awards which is estimated to be over £10million to date,[2] and publications are on Orcid[7] or Researchgate[6] A recent £1.4million collaboration with Queen's Belfast and St. Andrew's colleagues, under the banner of CyanoSol is looking at "in reservoir destruction of blue-green algae and their toxins".