Nancy Rothwell

Education

Rothwell was born in Tarleton, a village near Preston, Lancashire. She was educated at Penwortham Girls’ Grammar School and then went to college where she took four A-levels in maths, physics, chemistry and art. She enrolled at the University of London and obtained a first class degree in physiology (1976) and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1979) from Queen Elizabeth College, now part of King's College, London. Rothwell was later was awarded a Doctor of Science degree (1987) by King's College London and an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Bath in 2009.

Research

Rothwell's early research identified mechanisms of energy balance regulation, obesity and cachexia. In 1984 she was awarded a Royal Society Research Fellowship and relocated to Manchester in 1987 and numerous grants by the BBSRC. She was appointed to a chair in physiology in 1994, then a Medical Research Council research chair in 1998. Her current research focusses on the role of inflammation in brain disease and has identified the role of the cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) in diverse forms of brain injury. Her studies have begun to elucidate the mechanisms regulating IL-1 release and its action and her group have conducted the first early clinical trial of an IL-1 inhibitor in strokes. She served as president of the British Neuroscience Association and a council member of Medical Research Council (MRC).

Career

From October 2004 Rothwell was vice-president for research of the university. In 2010 she was overseeing a research group of about 20 scientists, with significant external funding and was announced to succeed Alan Gilbert as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester on 1 July 2010. She is a trustee of Cancer Research UK, the Campaign for Medical Progress, a council member of BBSRC, chair of the Research Defence Society and the Wellcome Trust's Public Engagement Strategy Committee and a non-executive director of AstraZeneca. In 1998 she delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on The Secrets of Life, televised by the BBC.

In January 2010, Rothwell was appointed deputy president and deputy vice-chancellor. Until Alan Gilbert retired she was acting president due to his sick leave. On 21 June 2010, she was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester. She assumed her post on 1 July 2010, succeeding Alan Gilbert, who had retired after nearly six years. She became the first woman to lead the University of Manchester or either of its two predecessor institutions. Commenting on her appointment, she said: "I am honoured and delighted to be invited to lead the University at this exciting time. I am determined to maintain the strategic focus that we have developed over the past six years and to work closely with colleagues to identify new priorities and opportunities for the University in the very challenging external environment that we will face over the next few years."

The chairman of the Appointment Panel and Chairman-elect of the university's board of governors, Anil Ruia, said: "Dame Nancy will bring her own distinctive strengths, perspective and style to the role of President and Vice-Chancellor which will enable the University to build upon the remarkable progress that we have made under Professor Alan Gilbert's leadership." In 2009 Rothwell become the first president of the Society of Biology, now the Royal Society of Biology.

Awards and honours

In February 2013 she was assessed as the 15th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. In May 2013 she was the subject of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific and was interviewed about her life and work by Jim Al-Khalili. Rothwell was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005, Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2004, Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2003 she won the prestigious Pfizer Research Prize. Her nomination for the Royal Society reads: