Alice's journey began in medicine, but she transitioned from surgery to academia to teach clinical anatomy and research human origins and ancient diseases. She believes in sharing the incredible knowledge generated at universities, and since 2012, she has served as the Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham. She has been honoured with eight honorary doctorates and has been president of prestigious organizations like the Association of Science Education and the British Science Association. In recognition of her work, she received the Royal Society's David Attenborough Award for Public Engagement in 2020.
She has presented over a hundred TV documentaries on human biology, history, and archaeology. Her television debut was as a human bone specialist on Channel 4's Time Team in 2001. Since then, she has hosted BBC Two's Coast, and written and presented landmark series such as The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us, and Ice Age Giants. She has also presented history and archaeology series like Britain's Most Historic Towns, Fortress Britain, Ancient Egypt by Train, Curse of the Ancients, and Royal Autopsy.
Her longest-running series, BBC Two's Digging for Britain, is now in its twelfth season.
In addition to television, she has authored fourteen popular science and history books. Her book, The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize in 2015. Her latest trilogy—Ancestors, Buried, Crypt—explores the remarkable insights from burial archaeology and genetics. Crypt is a Number One Sunday Times Bestseller. In 2023, Alice's first book for children, Wolf Road, went straight to number two in Amazon's fiction chart.
In 2024, Alice presented Ottoman Empire by Train for Channel 4, and toured a sell-out run of her live show From Cell To Civilisation across Australia.
Beyond her academic and media endeavours, she is an enthusiastic artist, blending science with art. She is proud to be an associate of the Medical Artists' Association of Great Britain and an honorary academician of the Royal West of England Academy.