In memory of Brenda Leese, a much valued former colleague

Posted on Thursday 26 March 2026

Brenda began her CHE career working on the landmark Seebohm Rowntree study of poverty in York and quickly established herself as a dedicated and skilled researcher, always very much in demand for key CHE projects.

Throughout the mid 1980s to mid 1990s, Brenda worked on a wide variety of topics, but was most well-known for her research on primary care. Her work spanned a diverse set of issues relating to General Practitioners (GPs) and other primary care professionals, including financing, organisation, workforce, payment, contracting and governance.

During her employment at CHE and in her subsequent posts, especially in the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre (NPCRDC) based at the University of Manchester, Brenda was involved in the evaluation of several major national developments in primary care.

Brenda's legacy in the world of health economics research is reflected in over 100 publications, including books and numerous articles. But Brenda was originally trained in Botany and Biochemistry, having previously undertaken a PhD at the University of York. Her decision to switch careers into health economics was very fortunate for CHE.

What is even more remarkable is that following her eventual retirement from academic life in the early 2000s, Brenda went on to revisit her love of plants, gaining further qualifications and publishing two more books – this time about women who had plants named after them - 'There she grows'  and 'There she grows again'.  These achievements illustrate the amazing breadth and depth of Brenda’s intellectual abilities and expertise, as well as her enormous enthusiasm for such a wide range of topics. 

Brenda was well-liked and highly valued by all her CHE colleagues and had a reputation for being completely unflappable and level-headed. These qualities certainly served her well in all her research with GPs over the years! She was kind, funny and simply a joy to be around.