Lesley De Cruz obtained a PhD in Physics at Ghent University in 2011 and joined the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI) in 2012. As of 2021, she holds a joint professorship between RMI and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where she leads research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, weather forecasting, and climate science.

Her work focuses on integrating machine learning with physical modeling to improve short-term weather prediction, urban climate modeling, and impact-based forecasting. She coordinates the RMI Seamless Prediction Program and contributes to the international ML-nowcasting initiative MLCast.

She is an active contributor to open-source scientific software, including the development of the coupled ocean-atmosphere model MAOOAM and contributions to the widely used pysteps nowcasting framework, supporting operational forecasting in meteorological services worldwide. Her interdisciplinary research group at VUB and RMI focuses on addressing climate extremes through data-driven and physics-based approaches, translating scientific advances into operational tools with real-world impact. In addition to her research, she is strongly committed to education and outreach, and was awarded the Innoviris Women Award in Technology and Science (WATS) for inspiring the next generation in STEM.