Jackie Hunter


Jacqueline Hunter CBE FMedSci FBPharmacolS FRSB FZL PhD Hons DSc is the CE Clinical and Strategic Partnerships at BenevolentAI. Jackie Hunter is also a Professor at St George's Hospital Medical School and was CEO of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Education

Jackie Hunter was educated at Selwyn School, Matson, Gloucestershire and at Kings School, Gloucester. She achieved a BSc in Physiology and Psychology at Bedford College, University of London in 1977 and whilst there represented the college on the TV programme University Challenge in 1976. She was awarded her PhD for work carried out at London Zoo entitled 'Olfaction, aggression and sexual behaviour of owl monkeys. in 1981.

Career

Following her PhD, Hunter undertook a Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral research fellowship at St George's Hospital Medical School before joining the pharmaceutical industry. She worked at Glaxo Laboratories first in Greenford and then Ware on novel therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease. In 1986 she moved to Astra and then subsequently in 1989 to SmithKline and French just prior to the merger that created SmithKlineBeecham. At SB she held a number of management positions and was responsible for delivering a number of candidate molecules to development as well as large scale external collaborations such as the ENU mutagenesis project with the MRC at Harwell. After the merger between SB and GlaxoWellcome to create GSK, she became head of the Neurology and GI Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery and Site Head at the GSK site in Harlow, Essex.
In 2008 she developed GSK's external innovation strategy and was responsible for developing the concept of the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst and obtaining funding from government and other bodies.
In 2010 she left GSK to establish OI Pharma Partners. which was established as a consultancy for the promotion of open innovation in the life sciences, working with governments, academic organisations and companies to formulate open innovation strategies and best practice.
In 2013 she was appointed chief executive officerExecutive of the BBSRC in 2013. She has also been a non-executive director of Proximagen group plc and Chiltern International Group. She is also a member of the Governing Council of Hertfordshire University.

Awards

2005 – Honoured by the Academia del Brutium, Rome, for Contributions to Neuroscience
2010 – A winner of the 2010 Women of Achievement in Science, Engineering and Technology awards in the category SET Discovery, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
2010 – Awarded CBE in Queen's Birthday Honours list for Services to the Pharmaceutical Industry
2012 – Awarded Fellowship of the British Pharmacological Society
2014 – Awarded Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2014. 2014 – Named as one of 50 Movers and Shakers in Bio-Business 2014
2015 – Awarded Fellowship of Zoological Society of London
2015 – Awarded British Pharmacological Society Astra Zeneca prize for Women in Pharmacology
2016 – Awarded Honorary DSc
2016 – Awarded Fellowship Royal Society of Biology