Adrienne Clarke is Emeritus Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. Her major research contributions are in understanding reproduction in plants, and protection of plants from attack by insects and fungi. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) and Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
She served as Chairman of the CSIRO Board (1991-1996), Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (1997-2000) , Founding Chair of VESKI (2003-2007), Chancellor of La Trobe University (2011–2017) and on various Government boards and committees. She has also served on the Boards of several public companies.