Person

Leishman, Michelle

Occupation
Plant ecologist
Website
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4830-5797

Summary

Michelle Leishman is a plant ecologist renowned for her expertise in urban greenspace, plant conservation, invasive plants, vegetation responses to climate change, and ecosystem restoration. Her interests include understanding plant success in novel ranges, ecological impacts of Myrtle rust, and evolutionary ecology of smoke-promoted germination. Much of her research has evidence-based application in the nursery and horticulture industry, environmental conservation, and in informing government policy. She developed WeedFutures, which predicts weed spread up to 2065. Leishman is Distinguished Professor at Macquarie University where she is Director of the Centre for Green Cities. A Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (RSNSW) and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, she is active in scientific and conservation organisations, including the Australian Flora Foundation and Bush Heritage Australia. She has received a number of awards, including the New South Wales Premier's Prizes for Excellence in Biological Sciences and the Clarke Medal from the RSNSW.

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Details

Chronology

1993
Education - PhD, Macquarie University
1997 - 2006
Career position - President, STEP (South Turramurra Environment Protection)
2000 - 2006
Award - ARC Queen Elizbeth II Research Fellow
2014 -
Career position - Professor (personal chair), Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University
2020 -
Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales
2020 - 2023
Career position - Chair, Scientific Research Committee, Australian Flora Foundation
2020 - 2023
Career position - Member of Council, Australian Flora Foundation
2022
Award - Prize for Excellence in Biological Sciences, New South Wales Premier's Prizes in Science
2023 -
Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales
2024 -
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

See also

Helen Cohn

Created: 15 January 2026

EOAS ID: biogs/P007942b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
Kooyang - Gariwerd calendar - Late summer: late January to late March - season of eels
Reference: https://www.bom.gov.au/resources/indigenous-weather-knowledge/indigenous-seasonal-calendars/gariwerd-calendar#bom-anchor-list__item-kooyang-season-of-eels

Publisher: Swinburne University of Technology.

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Cite this page: https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007942b.htm

For earlier editions see the Internet Archive at: https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.eoas.info

"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260