604: Not Wasting Any Time in Search of Genetic Treatments for Muscular Dystrophy - Dr. Kay Davies

People Behind the Science Podcast - Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers

Professor Dame Kay Davies is the Dr. Lee's Professor of Anatomy in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics and Director of the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford. She is also the Honorary Director of the MRC Functional Genomics Unit, a deputy chairman of the Wellcome Trust, and Executive Editor of the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Kay is also a co-founder of a biotechnology company and is a director of another. In her research, Kay uses genetics techniques to help find effective treatments for muscular dystrophy. Much of her work has focused on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe and progressive muscle wasting disease that primarily affects males. When she’s not working, Kay loves taking walks in the English countryside, listening to classical music, and playing the piano. She completed her undergraduate studies at Somerville College and served as a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College in Oxford. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Saclay Nuclear Research Center, and went on to serve as a research fellow at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School and John Radcliffe Hospital and then as a faculty member at John Radcliffe Hospital and the University of London before joining the faculty at Oxford. Kay has received many awards and honors during her career, and to name just a few, she was elected as a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society. She was also named Commander of the Order of the British Empire and then Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Kay is also an Honorary Fellow of Sommerville College, and had the honor of giving the inaugural Rose lecture at Kingston University in 2012 and the Harveian Oration at the Royal College of Physicians in 2013. In our interview, Kay tells us more about her journey through life and science.