Polly Roy has been Professor of Virology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine since 2001. She completed a PhD at New York University and subsequently received postdoctoral training in RNA virology at Rutgers University. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham she established her own research group, becoming a full Professor in 1986. Following an International Fogarty fellowship at the University of Oxford she established a UK-based research group working on the segmented dsRNA Bluetongue virus, a significant animal pathogen, investigating the virus replication cycle and developing several innovative vaccines. The group's output includes pioneering work on co-expression of viral proteins to form immunogenic virus-like-particles, the development of reverse genetics for Orbiviruses, the in vitro assembly of infectious virus particles, the basis of genome segment packaging and novel single replication cycle vaccines.

Polly Roy’s contribution in Virology has been noted with the award of various honors and awards, including being elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, receiving the Indian Presidential Gold Medal for her contribution to science and technology and being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to Virus Research in the Queen’s Birthday honors’ list.