[3] She was educated at Chichester High School for Girls[3] where her interest in science began being influenced by her biology teacher and her parents who were keen amateur gardeners.

She then undertook a PhD at the University of Edinburgh analysing nucleic acid sequences from the Y chromosome of humans.

[8] Her work has focused on how DNA, chromosomes and specific genes are organised and packaged in the cell nucleus,[9] how this process is regulated during development to facilitate the expression of genes, and how aberrant genome organisation is linked to disease.

[10][11][12][13] In 2020, she was recognised for her research examining the likelihood that people will develop serious symptoms of the COVID-19 disease.

[20] She is a member of the organisation Trees for Life which is working to restore the forest in the Highlands of Scotland.