Carol Routledge

Carol is a hugely respected and experienced figure in the world of neuroscience research, having worked in the space for over 30 years. She began her career at the pharmaceutical firm Syntex, later moving to Wyeth and SmithKline Beecham before taking up a senior leadership role in Clinical Pharmacology and Discovery Medicine (Psychiatry) at the newly-formed GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 2000. From 2004 to 2009, she was Head of Clinical Development at BTG, after which she rejoined GSK as Head of Translational Medicine (Biopharma Discovery) until 2015. Carol has also utilized her expertise to drive R&D efforts from outside the pharmaceutical industry. Between 2017 and 2020, she was Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK), the UK’s leading dementia research charity. In this capacity, she was responsible for directing the charity’s research agenda, and initiated, established, and led as managing director of the Early Detection of Neurodegenerative diseases (EDoN) project – an ambitious global initiative backed by Bill Gates that is working to develop digital fingerprints for the early detection of dementia causing diseases. Prior to joining ARUK, she worked as a Venture Partner at the Dementia Discovery Fund – a £250m specialist venture capital fund, also part-funded by Gates, that focuses on investing in and creating new biotech companies to develop high-impact therapeutics for age-related dementias. Her work there centered on identifying and developing novel disease-modifying mechanisms for the treatment of all types of dementia, sourcing opportunities from academic research groups and small companies. More recently, Carol has returned to work in the pharmaceutical sector, as Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at Small Pharma, a London-based firm that develops novel treatments for mental health conditions.