Sir Edward Byrne (born 1952) is a

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, neural circuits, and glial ...

who served as Principal of King's College London from August 2014 until January 2021.
King's College London He was previously Vice-Chancellor of

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

Early life and education

Born 15 February 1952, Byrne grew up in northeast England, the son of a general practitioner, and moved to Australia at the age of 15. He studied medicine at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Medical Science A Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci, BMedSc, BSc(Med), BMSc) is an undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs ...

(BMedSc) in 1971, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in 1974, and a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

(MD) in 1982. Byrne also holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

(MBA) from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, a Diploma in Clinical Science from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

and a

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(ScD) from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. Byrne is a Fellow of the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

, the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

, the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, the

American Academy of Neurology The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is a professional society representing over 38,000 neurologists and neuroscientists. As a medical specialty society it was established in 1948 by A.B. Baker of the University of Minnesota to advance the ...

and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and a Senior Fellow of the

American Neurological Association The American Neurological Association (ANA) is a professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists devoted to advancing the goals of academic neurology; to training and educating neurologists and other physicians in the neurologic ...

Professional career

Byrne's career in neuroscience combined prominent work as both a researcher and clinician. His career began in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, as Neurology Registrar at the

Royal Adelaide Hospital The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...

in 1978. In 1979, he left Australia to undertake a research fellowship in clinical neurology in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He returned to Australia to become Director of Neurology at

St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne St Vincent's Hospital is a major hospital in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. It is operated by the St Vincent's Health service, previously known as the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne. It is situated at the corner of Nicholson Stree ...

in 1983. In 1993, he became Founding Director of the Melbourne Neuromuscular Research Unit and later the Centre for Neuroscience, going on to become Professor of Clinical Neurology in 1992 and Experimental Neurology at the

in 2001. His contribution to neuroscience has been particularly strong in

mitochondrial disease Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy of ...

.
/ref> In 2006, his work was recognised when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. Byrne first went to Monash University in 2003, when he was made Dean of its Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, a role he held until 2007. He then returned to the UK, where he became Vice-Provost (Health) at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(initially serving as Dean of its Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Head of its School of Medicine). In 2009, Monash University announced that Byrne would replace Richard Larkins, its outgoing Vice-Chancellor. Immediately upon his appointment, Byrne undertook a restructuring of the university's management and administration, placing the ten faculties into four "clusters". The aim of this was to encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration and reduce duplication across faculties (cutting administrative costs). Byrne stated that, in his term as Vice-Chancellor, he wanted Monash to consolidate and increase the research output of its international campuses in Malaysia and South Africa, and its graduate academy in India, tapping into regional research funding. He led the establishment of the Monash campus in Suzhou, China in collaboration with South East University, championed close links with Peking University and led a global alliance between Monash and Warwick universities with Nigel Thrift. In his time as vice-chancellor, Monash University consolidated a position as a top 100 research university. Monash's engagement in South Africa was strengthened by a partnership with the Laureate group. In 2014, Byrne was appointed a guest professor by

Peking University Health Science Center Peking University Health Science Center is the medical school of Peking University, which has 14 affiliated hospitals in Beijing, China. It was formerly the independent Beijing Medical University. History It was first established in 1902 as the ...

(PUHSC). He was also made an Honorary Citizen for

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

Province, China, in September 2014. In September 2014, Byrne was appointed Principal and President of King's College London. In addition to his role in universities and medical research, Byrne has served on the boards of various commercial biomedical enterprises, including Cochlear and BUPA. He is a member of the Patrons Council of the

Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria The Epilepsy Foundation is a large Australian charity, headquartered in Surrey Hills, Victoria, which provides evidence-based programs to support to people living with epilepsy, and all those who care for them. Epilepsy Foundation programs are de ...

Other

In his personal life he has a keen interest in fly fishing and classical music and poetry. He has published four books of poetry through Melbourne University Press.

Honours

On 26 January 2006, Byrne was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to neurology as a clinician and academic and to advances in medical research, particularly in the area of mitochondrial muscle disease. On 26 January 2014, Byrne was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AC) for eminent service to tertiary education, particularly through leadership and governance roles with Monash University, to biomedical teaching and research, as a scientist and academic mentor, and as a contributor to improved global health. Byrne was awarded an Honorary

by the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

in July 2013, and an Honorary

by the

in August 2014. He is also a recipient of the Queens Square Prize for Neurological Research of the

UCL Institute of Neurology The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology is an institute within the Faculty of Brain Sciences of University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. Together with the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, an ...

and is an

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. In 2015, Byrne was awarded an Honorary

from Western University and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS). In 2017, Byrne became an Honorary Professor at

and a

Distinguished Visiting Professor Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" informally refers collectively to the academic ranks of assistant professor, asso ...

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

. He was also awarded an Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

in 2017. In 2019, Byrne was awarded a Doctor of Medical Science (Honoris Causa) from the University of Sydney and was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK). He was knighted in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are 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 ...

for services to higher education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Ed 1952 births Living people University of Melbourne faculty University of Tasmania alumni University of Queensland alumni Monash University faculty Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Place of birth missing (living people) Principals of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences English emigrants to Australia Knights Bachelor