Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, FRS, FMedSci

President and Vice Chancellor.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, FRS, President and Vice-Chancellor, leads by example. Her ongoing research in the field of neuroscience has contributed towards major advances in the understanding and treatment of brain damage in stroke and head injury.

She joined the Victoria University of Manchester in 1987, became Professor of Physiology in 1994 and held a Medical Research Council Research Chair from 1998 to 2010. Concurrent with her Faculty posts she has also held University roles as Vice-President for Research (2004–2007) and as Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (2007–2010).

She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in June 2004 and made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 2005 in recognition of her services to science.

Nancy became President and Vice-Chancellor in July 2010 – the first woman to lead The University of Manchester or either of its two predecessor institutions. She was the founding President of the Royal Society of Biology and has also served as Co-Chair of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, and as a non-executive director of AstraZeneca. She is currently a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater Manchester and a member of the UK Investment Council, the Oxford Road Corridor Board, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership Board, the UK Biobank Board, the Innovation Greater Manchester Board and the Times Education Commission.

Nancy takes a strong and active interest in the public communication of science.