Saunders was born on 14 October 1865 in
Brighton, England. She was educated first at Handsworth Ladies' College and in 1884 she entered the female-only
Newnham College, Cambridge. There, she attended both Part I (in 1887) and II (in 1888) of the
Natural Sciences Tripos. is second from left and Edith Saunders is at right She continued to post-graduate research, and served as a demonstrator at the
Balfour Biological Laboratory for Women between 1888 and 1890 (where students from
Newnham and
Girton colleges received preparation for the Natural Sciences Tripos). She was the last director of that Laboratory between 1890 and 1914. She was also director of studies at Girton College (1904–1914) and Newnham College (1918–1925). She was appointed a fellow of the
Royal Horticultural Society from which she received the
Banksian Medal in 1906. In 1905 she was elected a Fellow of the
Linnean Society of London, later serving on its council (1910 - 1915) and as vice-president during 1912- 1913. In 1920 she was the president of the botanical section of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science. She also served as president of the Genetics Society, between 1936 and 1938. During
World War II she served as a volunteer helping the
Allied forces. She died soon after returning to Britain, in 1945, after suffering injuries in a bicycle accident. ==Research==