The phrase "lead author on the study" means that a person did most of the work and took charge of a research project or study. They are responsible for managing the project, conducting the research, and writing the final report. Full definition
«It is very important for fire departments to understand causes and cost of injury in order to ensure their limited budget is being properly distributed,» said Shannon Widman, project manager at FIRST and lead author on the study published in Injury Prevention. (sciencedaily.com)
Lead author on the study noted, «The study suggests regulating the timing of eating and sleep could improve the effectiveness of weight management programs.» (yoursingoodhealth.me)
Equally ironic is that we arrived at that insight simply by amassing, organizing and carefully analyzing large existing databases, rather than collecting new data that would have been far more expensive,» said Dr. Daniel Isaak, lead author on the study with the U.S. Forest Service. (sciencedaily.com)