Fiona began her research career with the University of York and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, studying seed predation in the native pinewoods of Scotland. In 2006 she moved to China, where she was involved in community-based conservation initiatives. In 2017 she joined the Kunming Institute of Botany. Her research there primarily focused on climate change in high elevation mountain ranges, with a particular emphasis on its impacts on epiphytic lichens. She also engaged in cross-disciplinary collaborations, including with researchers studying ecological and climatic impacts of microplastics pollution.