Congratulations to Prof Paul Matthews on his new appointment as Director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute

Prof Paul Matthews will be stepping down as Centre Director of the UK DRI at Imperial on 7 April 2024. As founding Director of the UK DRI at Imperial, Prof Matthews led a multidisciplinary team of 120+ researchers, focused on unravelling the mechanisms underpinning dementia and developing innovative treatments to correct these detrimental changes in the brain.

Since joining the UK DRI in 2017 when the Imperial Centre was first established, Prof Matthews has developed an exceptional research portfolio, including launching the pioneering Multi ‘Omics Atlas Project (MAP), led by Dr Johanna Jackson under Prof Matthews’ leadership. The project aims to create an ‘atlas’ of the brain at different stages of Alzheimer’s, and is set to rapidly improve our understanding of the processes that lead to people developing the condition. In addition to his role within the UK DRI, Prof Matthews is Head of the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial, and Chair of the MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board.

Prof Matthews will be leaving his role at Centre Director of the UK DRI at Imperial to pursue an exciting new role as Director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, a national research institute dedicated to developing new technologies to tackle important health challenges. He will remain as a Group Leader at the UK DRI, continuing to lead an innovative research programme combining cutting-edge techniques to research inflammatory mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease.

Prof Matthews said:

“It has been a huge pleasure for me to lead a UK DRI Centre. I will continue to value my role as a Group Leader of the UK DRI and I am privileged to contribute now in new ways. Although still young, the Rosalind Franklin Institute already is recognised for its unique capabilities and as a national leader for next generation chemistries and innovative, multi-scale imaging for the life sciences. I am excited to be able lead the Franklin in the next stage of its development, particularly for the potential this affords for establishing a strong partnership with the UK DRI to further accelerate translational dementia research.”

Prof Siddharthan Chandran, UK DRI Director, said:

“We give many thanks to Paul for his substantial input into the foundation years of the UK DRI and creating fantastic science programmes. Paul’s appointment as the Director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute reflects his range of expertise that has benefited so much the UK DRI. His new role opens the possibility to build a strong alliance between the UK DRI and Franklin Institute. I wish him the very best.”

Recruitment for a new Centre Director for the UK DRI at Imperial will commence in the new year.

Article published: 27 November 2023