Monique Simmonds

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Monique Sheelagh Jacquard Simmonds OBE is a chemist and botanist who is deputy keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She has been involved in identifying plant-derived compounds in several criminal investigations. She is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and the Royal Society of Biology.

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Life

Simmonds earned her BSc at the University of Leeds and her PhD in parasitology at Birkbeck College, University of London. [1] Her doctoral thesis was on the subject of the parasitoids of synanthropic flies. [2]

Simmonds is deputy keeper of the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Director of the Commercial Innovation Unit. She is also Deputy Director of Science - Partnerships. [3] She has worked at Kew Gardens since 1985. [4] Simmonds research interests are in the economic uses of plants and fungi, and the uses of chemicals derived from plants and fungi. [1] [5] [6] [7] She is also involved in the identification of compounds derived from plants. [8] Simmonds fundraised to create a collection of 7,000 specimens from Chinese medicine at Kew, [9] and has been directing research aimed at using them to improve the safety of Traditional Chinese Medicine. [10]

Simmonds has provided chemical botanical investigations in several criminal investigations. [4] She was responsible for identifying the plant Gelsemium elegans as a possible cause of the poisoning of Alexander Perepilichny in 2015. [11] Simmonds identified sesame in the food from Pret a manger eaten by Natasha Ednan-Laperouse before her allergic reaction and death in 2016. [12]

Simmonds is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, the World Innovation Foundation, the Royal Society of Biology, and the Linnean Society. [13]

The standard author abbreviation M.Simmonds is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name. [14]

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 "Simmonds, Monique | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". www.kew.org. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Simmonds, M. S. J. (1984). Parasitoids of synanthropic flies (PhD). Birkbeck College, University of London.
  3. ↑ "Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: CEB staff". www.kew.org. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Revealed: The brains behind Kew Gardens' beauty". Richmond and Twickenham Times. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "Herbal Essences is Improving the Health of Hair With More Plant Power in 2020". BusinessWire. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  6. ↑ Lawrence, Janna (15 October 2014). "Mind-expanding exploration at London's Kew Gardens". The Pharmaceutical Journal. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  7. ↑ Houlton, Sarah (23 September 2014). "Chemistry in bloom". Chemistry World. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  8. ↑ "Professor Monique Simmonds OBE | Kew". www.kew.org. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "Revitalizing the science of traditional medicinal plants". nature portfolio. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  10. ↑ CBBC (7 August 2020). "Britain's Kew Gardens is working to make TCM safer". Focus - China Britain Business Council. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  11. ↑ Harding, Luke; Walker, Shaun (19 May 2015). "'Poisoned' Russian whistleblower was fatalistic over death threats". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Harm or Harmony: How safe are we from the foods we eat?". Apple Podcasts. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  13. ↑ UCL (30 October 2019). "Monique Simmonds". Spices and Medicine. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  14. ↑ International Plant Names Index.  M.Simmonds.
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