Dr Leece has been the Co-Director of the excavation since 2017.

Dr. Leece and the team have recently published the discovery of two new fossils in Science and Nature Ecology and Evolution. She was awarded her PhD from La Trobe University in late 2020 and is just starting as an Early Career Researcher. Her research focusses on early hominin dental adaptions and related dietary behaviours as well as the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of our early ancestors. In addition to her publications, she has focussed on media and outreach and has collaborated on articles published in the New York Times, National Geographic, and the Good Weekend to name just a few.