Frank S. Walsh

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Frank S. Walsh Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon.) F.Med. Sci., FKC, FRSE (born 1953 in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire) is a British-born Neuroscientist. He is best known for his work on the understanding of the role of cell adhesion molecules in the development and regeneration of the nervous system. He is the author of over 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

In 2008 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 2007 became a Fellow of King's College London. He has also received honorary degrees from the Universities of Perugia and Bologna in Italy, and the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Frank Walsh started his scientific career with an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Strathclyde and a subsequent Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University College London. His post-doctoral training was conducted under the tutelage of the Nobel prize winner Marshall Nirenberg at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.

Since 2002 he is Executive Vice President of Discovery Research at Wyeth, a leading pharmaceutical company. In this role he has been responsible for overseeing the transition of more than 80 novel drug candidates into clinical development for a number of devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Stroke, Schizophrenia, Cancer, Diabetes, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and COPD.

He was Sir William Dunn Professor and Head of Experimental Pathology at the United Medical and Dental Schools from 1989, and Research Dean from 1994 until 1997 when he joined SmithKline Beecham as Vice President of Neuroscience Research. With the creation of GlaxoSmithKline from the merger of SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome, he became Senior Vice President and Head of the Company’s Neurology-Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery.

In addition to his corporate roles, he holds Visiting Professorships at London University’s King’s College, the University College Dublin, and was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences (London) in 2003. In addition, he has been Chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign research committee, a Trustee of Spinal Research, a visiting examiner at King’s College, an adviser to the College’s MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology and a special advisor to the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases. He is also Editor in Chief of the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.