Dr Pauline Williams

Dr Pauline Williams has a distinguished career in pharmaceutical translational medicine and drug development. As Head of Global Health R&D in GSK she led a multinational team of physicians and scientists developing novel therapeutics for neglected diseases including TB, malaria, visceral leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease. Her remit spanned early drug discovery through to late stage drug development and market access. Key successes include the approval and launch of tafenoquine, a novel treatment for malaria vivax, in partnership with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), and chlorhexidine gel for prevention of omphalitis, in partnership with Save the Children. Building on the success of the GSK Tres Cantos Open Lab, she launched the GSK Africa Open Lab, supporting open-innovation projects and building a network of young researchers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Pauline served on the Council for the Medical Research Council, UKRI for six years, and remains a scientific advisor for two MRC Units in addition to the Oxford University Biomedical Research Centre. A Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, she co-chairs their prestigious Future Leaders in Innovation, Enterprise and Research programme. Save the Children named Pauline as a Changemaker for Children in 2019, and in 2020 she was appointed as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to medicines development in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List