Loeske Kruuk: key obituary facts
Is Loeske Kruuk dead? Yes. Loeske Kruuk died on October 31, 2026, at age 56.
Cause of death: Loeske Kruuk's cause of death was reported as Cancer.
What was Loeske Kruuk known for?
She was a British evolutionary ecologist.
More about Loeske Kruuk
Gender: female.
Occupation: evolutionary ecologist, professor.
Nationality: United Kingdom.
Education: University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, University of Aberdeen.
Employer: University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Australian National University.
Awards: Philip Leverhulme Prize, ZSL Scientific Medal, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Mary Lyon Medal, Australian Laureate Fellowship, Fellow of the Royal Society.
Also known as: Loeske E B Kruuk, Loeske Elizabeth Beatrice Kruuk, Loeske E. B. Kruuk, Loeske E.B. Kruuk, Loeske EB Kruuk, L.E.B. Kruuk, L. E. B. Kruuk, LEB Kruuk.
Professor Loeske Kruuk, a British evolutionary ecologist, died on October 31, 2026, aged 56, after battling an aggressive form of cancer.
She began academic studies in mathematics at Somerville College, Oxford, in 1988, before moving into biology. She completed an MSc in ecology at the University of Aberdeen and a PhD in population genetics at the University of Edinburgh, where her research examined amphibian hybrid zones with Nick Barton.
Her postdoctoral work included research with Tim Clutton-Brock at the University of Cambridge and Josephine Pemberton. In 2000, she held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at Edinburgh and became Professor of Evolutionary Ecology there in 2009. She moved to the Australian National University in 2012 and was a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Edinburgh. Her research examined how climate change affects animal populations, focusing on wild vertebrates and evolution and natural selection in natural populations. Kruuk received the 2018 European Society for Evolutionary Biology President’s Award and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023. Her honors also included the Philip Leverhulme Prize and the ZSL Scientific Medal.