Professor Rachel McKendry, Executive Director, Discovery
Rachel joined Wellcome in March 2025. She is responsible for identifying, enabling and investing in potential breakthrough research to drive significant discoveries across biomedical, humanities & social sciences, clinical research, population health and relevant engineering and physical sciences.
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Rachel is a renowned expert in biomedicine and nanotechnology. Before joining Wellcome she held a joint appointment at the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the Division of Medicine at UCL. Her research focused on early disease diagnosis, using quantum technologies, deep learning, and mobile health for clinical and public health impact. Rachel has won several awards for her research including the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award and was the first woman to lead an EPSRC Interdisciplinary Research Centre or Collaboration.
In addition to her strong research background, Rachel has a deep understanding of how to influence policies to drive global change. She shaped the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme quantum for health and life sciences strategy and mission, co-chaired the Digitial Medicine Theme of the Topol Review for the NHS, and served on the International Pandemic Preparedness 100 Days Mission Scientific and Technical Advisory Group for Diagnostics.
