Dr. Ruth Mitchell McKernan (born 1958) is a British

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

known for her work on ligand-gated ion channels, and for services to business and innovation for which she was appointed CBE in 2013. She is a founding director of Astronautx, a start-up researching

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

treatments targeting

astrocyte Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" + , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of endo ...

Career

McKernan was born in March 1958. She studied biochemistry and pharmacology at undergraduate level, graduating from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

with first class honours. She earned her PhD researching anti-depressant drugs at the University of London in the Institute of Psychiatry. McKernan then held research positions at St Mary's Hospital medical school on a

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

scholarship, before moving to the United States in 1985 to become a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

at University of California in San Diego. In 1987 she moved to

Merck Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: * the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 ** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...

where she worked for 18 years, leading their Neuroscience Research Centre from 2001, before moving to

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

in 2005 where she held a number of senior roles including Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the company's Neusentis unit. Returning to the United Kingdom, McKernan was Chief Executive of government-funded

Innovate UK Innovate UK is the United Kingdom's innovation agency, which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services. It is a non-departmental public body operating at arm's length from the Government as part of the United ...

from 2015 to 2018, where she led the development of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and promoted the importance of greater diversity in innovation. She announced her intention to step down as Chief Executive in 2018, two years before the end of the five-year appointment, stating "the introduction of

UK Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...

is the natural transition point and an opportunity for a new leader to refine the organisation". McKernan is a trustee of

Alzheimer's Research UK Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) is a dementia research charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1992 as the Alzheimer's Research Trust. ARUK funds scientific studies to find ways to treat, cure or prevent all forms of dementia, including Alzhei ...

and honorary fellow of the British Pharmaceutical Society. She is a venture partner at the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), a specialist

venture capital fund Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...

which is part of SV Health Investors, whose ultimate controlling party is

Kate Bingham Dame Catherine Elizabeth Bingham (born 19 October 1965), known as Kate Bingham, is a British venture capitalist. She is a managing partner at a venture capital firm, SV Health Investors. In 2020, Bingham chaired the UK Government's Vaccine T ...

. In 2019 she was a founding director of Astronautx Limited, a start-up company formed by DDF to conduct research into

treatments targeting

s (a type of brain cell). In November 2019 it was announced that McKernan had been elected as the Chair of the UK BioIndustry Association.

Awards and honours

In 1993, McKernan received the ABSW Science Writers' Award for her science articles in ''The Independent''. She was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for services to business and innovation.

Publications

Alongside publishing more than 130 scientific papers and 15 patents, McKernan wrote ''Billy's Halo'', published in 2006 and described as part memoir, part popular science. The book describes the death of her father and was shortlisted for the

Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

awards in 2007. McKernan also writes comment pieces in national newspapers on the role of academia.

Interests

McKernan's interests include science-writing and gardening. She also acts as a spokesperson for Women in Innovation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKernan, Ruth Scottish neuroscientists Living people Alumni of King's College London British women neuroscientists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1958 births