Clare obtained her BSc (Hons) and PhD from the University of Strathclyde.  Her PhD area was Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.  On completion of her PhD, she took up Postdoctoral Fellowship with the United States Department of Agriculture working in the Human Nutrition Research Centre in Beltsville, MD.  In 1995, she took up a Lecturing position in the Chemistry Department of University College Cork leading a research group in the fields of environmental and food analysis.  In 2002, she returned to Glasgow to study for a PGCE here in the School of Education.  She worked in Lanarkshire secondary schools as a Chemistry Teacher and Pupil Support Teacher until taking up a position as Lecturer in Science Education (Chemistry) in May, 2019.  She holds a senior appointment within the Higher Chemistry team at SQA and, through this appointment, provides support to colleagues nationally in the delivery and assessment of Higher Chemistry, through delivering training and professional dialog.