Professor Dame Anne Glover DBE FRS

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Celebrating Professor Dame Anne Glover DBE FRS

Our second Honorary Doctor this week from Abertay University is Professor Dame Anne Glover, one of Scotland's best-known scientists.

Abertay awarded Anne an Honorary Doctor of Science in 2015, the same year she was appointed a Dame.

A scientist with Dundee roots Anne was born in 1956 and went to school at the High School of Dundee. She graduated with first-class honours in biochemistry from the University of Edinburgh, then completed her MPhil and PhD at King's College, Cambridge. As Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Aberdeen, her research examined how cells respond to stress, how proteins reach the right places within cells, and the role of microbial populations in soil. She also took her biosensor research into industry, through a company that detects environmental pollution.

Science at the heart of government In 2006 Anne became the first Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland. In 2012 she became the first Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission. In both roles she changed how science, engineering and technology were used and discussed in government.

Leadership in Scotland Anne served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 2018 to 2021. She has also served as a Vice-Principal at the University of Aberdeen and joined the senior advisory team of the Principal of the University of Strathclyde in 2018. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2016.

Why this matters Anne has spent her career making sure evidence informs the decisions that affect us all. Her honour from Abertay recognises a scientist whose work reaches well beyond the laboratory, and whose roots are in the city the University serves.