Nancy Rothwell

Dame Nancy Jane Rothwell DBE DL FRS FMedSci FRSB FBPhS MAE[1][10] (born 2 October 1955)[11] is a British physiologist, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester since July 2010,[12] having been Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor since January 2010. Rothwell was a non-executive director of pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca from 2006 to 2015,[13] co-chair of the Council for Science and Technology and past President of the Royal Society of Biology.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] She is a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester[21][22] and from September 2020 chair of the Russell Group representing 24 of the leading Universities in UK.[23]

Dame

Nancy Rothwell

DBE DL FRS FMedSci FRSB FBPhS MAE
Rothwell in academic dress for a graduation ceremony for the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester in 2015
President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester
Assumed office
21 June 2010
Preceded byAlan Gilbert
Personal details
Born
Nancy Jane Rothwell

(1955-10-02) 2 October 1955[1]
Tarleton, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of London (BSc, PhD, DSc)[1]
Awards
Websitemanchester.ac.uk/research/nancy.rothwell
Known forPresident and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisPhysiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of energy balance (1979)
Doctoral advisorMike J. Stock[2][5]
Doctoral students(~50 in total)[6]
InfluencesBridget Ogilvie[7]
Ian MacDonald[5][8]
Derek Miller[5]

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.[5] She enrolled at the University of London and obtained a first class degree in physiology (1976) and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1979)[24] from Queen Elizabeth College, now part of King's College, London.[25] Rothwell was later awarded a Doctor of Science degree in 1987 by King's College London and an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Bath in 2009.

Career and research

Rothwell's early research[2][26][27] identified mechanisms of energy balance regulation, obesity and cachexia.[28] In 1984 she was awarded a Royal Society Research Fellowship and relocated to Manchester in 1987 and numerous grants by the BBSRC.[29] 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)[30] in diverse forms of brain injury.[31][32] 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).

From October 2004 Rothwell served as vice-president for research of the University.[33][34] 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.[35]

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 became the first president of the Society of Biology, now the Royal Society of Biology.

In May 2020 Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell was appointed as the chair of the Russell Group, starting September 2020.[23] The group represents 24 of the leading Universities in UK.

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.[36][37] 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.[5] Rothwell was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2005 Birthday Honours,[38] Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2004,[39] Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci).[1] In 2003 she won the prestigious Royal Society Pfizer Award.[40][41] Her nomination for the Royal Society reads:[42]

Nancy Rothwell has made major discoveries in the areas of energy balance, host defence responses, and neurodegeneration, several of which are now being translated into clinical benefit. Early work emphasised the importance of thermogenesis in the regulation of energy balance and the aetiology of obesity, and the role of b2 adrenoreceptor activation in muscle hypertrophy. More recently she has carried out pioneering studies of the role of cytokines and other components of the immune system within the central nervous system. She demonstrated the key role of specific cytokines and the hormone leptin in the integration and regulation by the brain of host defence responses to infection and injury. This led to important discoveries concerning the role of cytokines in neurodegeneration. She was the first to show that the cytokine IL-1 mediates ischaemic brain damage, challenging the view that immune or inflammatory processes are unimportant in the brain. She patented the use of IL-1 inhibitors to prevent acute neurodegeneration and is leading the first clinical trial of such an inhibitor in stroke. Her demonstration that caspases are involved directly in ischaemic brain damage in vivo stimulated the development of caspase inhibitors for possible clinical application. Nancy Rothwell has also worked energetically to advance physiology and neuroscience, to further public awareness of science, and to encourage women to pursue careers in science.

She is an honorary member of the British Society for Immunology[43] and honorary fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.[44] She has been a member of The Physiological Society since 1982 and was awarded the Physiological Society Annual Review Prize Lecture in 1998.

References
  1. Anon (2003). "Rothwell, Dame Nancy (Jane)". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U43057. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  2. Rothwell, N.; Stock, M. (1979). "A role for brown adipose tissue in diet-induced thermogenesis". Nature. 281 (5726): 31–35. Bibcode:1979Natur.281...31R. doi:10.1038/281031a0. PMID 551265.
  3. Selvarajah, J.; Scott, M.; Stivaros, S.; Hulme, S.; Georgiou, R.; Rothwell, N.; Tyrrell, P.; Jackson, A. (2008). "Potential surrogate markers of cerebral microvascular angiopathy in asymptomatic subjects at risk of stroke". European Radiology. 19 (4): 1011–1018. doi:10.1007/s00330-008-1202-8. PMID 18987865.
  4. Selvarajah, J. R.; Smith, C. J.; Hulme, S.; Georgiou, R.; Sherrington, C.; Staniland, J.; Illingworth, K. J.; Jury, F.; Payton, A.; Ollier, W. E.; Vail, A.; Rothwell, N. J.; Hopkins, S. J.; Tyrrell, P. J. (2011). "Does inflammation predispose to recurrent vascular events after recent transient ischaemic attack and minor stroke? The North West of England transient ischaemic attack and minor stroke (NORTHSTAR) study". International Journal of Stroke. 6 (3): 187–194. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4949.2010.00561.x. PMID 21557802.
  5. "The Life Scientific; Nancy Rothwell". Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  6. "CURRICULUM VITAE" (PDF). www.ae-info.org. October 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  7. McCann, Kate (23 April 2013). "Dame Nancy Rothwell: 'Break the rules and see what happens'". The Guardian.
  8. MacDonald, I. A.; Rothwell, N. J.; Stock, M. J. (1976). "Lipolytic and lipogenic activities of adipose tissue during spontaneous fat depletion and repletion proceedings". The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 35 (3): 129A–130A. PMID 1028061.
  9. "Nancy Rothwell". The Life Scientific. 7 May 2013. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  10. "Academy of Europe: Rothwell Nancy". Ae-info.org. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. Who's Who in Greater Manchester; golden jubilee edition. Manchester: Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society, 2002; p. 313
  12. "New President and Vice-Chancellor for The University of Manchester". New President and Vice-Chancellor for The University of Manchester.
  13. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02723534/officers?page=2
  14. "As it happened: Q&A with Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell > The Mancunion". Archived from the original on 16 May 2013.
  15. Brown, Matthew (September 2004) "A Society Fellow", in: AUTlook. Association of University Teachers; no. 231, pp. 24-25.
  16. "The New Statesman Interview: Nancy Rothwell, vice-chancellor, Manchester University".
  17. "Society of Biology welcomes new President". Archived from the original on 31 May 2014.
  18. Peer-reviewed publications by Nancy Rothwell (in PubMed)
  19. Nancy Rothwell's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  20. "Google Scholar". scholar.google.co.uk.
  21. "Greater Manchester Lieutenancy - Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell DL PhD DSc". manchesterlieutenancy.org.
  22. Nancy Rothwell Official website
  23. Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell appointed Russell Group Chair, Russell Group, 15 May 2020, archived from the original on 15 June 2020, retrieved 15 June 2020
  24. Rothwell, Nancy Jane (1979). Physiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of energy balance. london.ac.uk (PhD thesis). Kings College London. OCLC 827269727. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.471044.
  25. Nancy Rothwell ORCID 0000-0002-3325-3149
  26. Hopkins, S.; Rothwell, N. (1995). "Cytokines and the nervous system. I: Expression and recognition". Trends in Neurosciences. 18 (2): 83–88. doi:10.1016/0166-2236(95)93881-W. PMID 7537419.
  27. Rothwell, N.; Hopkins, S. (1995). "Cytokines and the nervous system II: Actions and mechanisms of action". Trends in Neurosciences. 18 (3): 130–136. doi:10.1016/0166-2236(95)93890-A. PMID 7754524.
  28. Roe, S. Y.; Cooper, A. L.; Morris, I. D.; Rothwell, N. J. (1997). "Involvement of prostaglandins in cachexia induced by T-cell leukemia in the rat". Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental. 46 (4): 359–365. doi:10.1016/S0026-0495(97)90047-0. PMID 9109835.
  29. "Grants awarded to Nancy Rothwell by the BBSRC".
  30. Relton, J. K.; Rothwell, N. J. (1992). "Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist inhibits ischaemic and excitotoxic neuronal damage in the rat". Brain Research Bulletin. 29 (2): 243–246. doi:10.1016/0361-9230(92)90033-T. PMID 1388088.
  31. Allan, S. M.; Rothwell, N. J. (2001). "Cytokines and acute neurodegeneration". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2 (10): 734–744. doi:10.1038/35094583. PMID 11584311.
  32. Denes, A.; Wilkinson, F.; Bigger, B.; Chu, M.; Rothwell, N. J.; Allan, S. M. (2013). "Central and haematopoietic interleukin-1 both contribute to ischaemic brain injury in mice". Disease Models & Mechanisms. 6 (4): 1043–1048. doi:10.1242/dmm.011601. PMC 3701223. PMID 23519030.
  33. Rothwell, Nancy (2002). Who wants to be a scientist?: choosing science as a career. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52092-4.
  34. Cripps, Elizabeth. "Manchester voices--Nancy Rothwell". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  35. Christmas Lectures 1998: Nancy Rothwell - Times of our lives
  36. "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour - The Power List 2013".
  37. "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Woman's Hour Power List - Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell".
  38. Anon (2005). "Queen's Birthday Honours 2005 recipient lists". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC.
  39. Anon (2004). "Dame Nancy Rothwell DBE DL FMedSci FRS". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
    “All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.” --"Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  40. "Royal Society Africa Prize - Royal Society". royalsociety.org.
  41. "Nancy Rothwell: Her own boss | Education | The Guardian: The head of research at the UK's biggest university tells Donald MacLeod she is unfazed by the task ahead, 2006-03-28". London. 28 March 2006. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013.
  42. "Nancy Jane Rothwell: Certificate of election EC/2004/38". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014.
  43. "Honorary members - British Society for Immunology". www.immunology.org.
  44. "Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell — Somerville College Oxford". www.some.ox.ac.uk.

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Academic offices
Preceded by
Alan Gilbert		 Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Manchester
2010–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
-		 President of the Royal Society of Biology
2009–2014		 Succeeded by
Jean Thomas
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