Lisa Alexander holds a BSc and MSc in Applied Mathematics and a PhD in climate sciences from Monash University. Between 1998 and 2006 she worked as a research scientist at the UK Met Office Hadley Centre with a year on secondment at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Dr Alexander's primary research focuses on understanding the variability and driving mechanisms of climate extremes. Of particular significance is her ongoing work assessing global changes in temperature and rainfall extremes, which has contributed significantly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessments. She was awarded the 2011 Priestley Medal by the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and the 2013 Australian Academy of Science Dorothy Hill award for her contribution to this field of research. She has contributed to the IPCC assessments in 2001 and 2007 and the 2012 Special Report on Extremes and is currently a Lead Author of the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report. Dr Alexander also chairs the World Meteorological Organisation Commission for Climatology Expert Team on Climate Risk and Sector-specific Indices.