Frances Platt is Professor of Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. She is an expert on glycosphinogolipids (GSL) and glycosphingolipid (GSL) lysosomal storage disorders. She pioneered the first pharmacological approach to treat these disorders. This led to the development of an approved drug for type 1 Gaucher disease. Miglustat was approved by the EMEA in 2002 and by the FDA in 2003 and is now in use worldwide as the first oral therapy for a lysosomal disorder. Her studies have shed light on the nature of GSL ligands presented by CD1d in the immune system that are recognised by iNKT cells.