Patrick Chinnery

Patrick was appointed as MRC Executive Chair in October 2023, having previously been MRC Clinical Director since 2019.

Patrick is also Professor of Neurology at the University of Cambridge, head of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.  He is a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow with a lab based in the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit and jointly chairs the NIHR BioResource for Translational Research in Common and Rare Diseases.  He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2009.

Patrick’s principal research interest is in understanding the role of mitochondria in human disease and developing new treatments for mitochondrial disorders.

His research has involved the identification of mitochondrial and nuclear gene defects responsible for mitochondrial disorders, dissecting the downstream disease mechanisms, and studying the molecular and cellular basis of mitochondrial DNA inheritance.

Patrick leads the clinical translational research programme spanning molecular diagnostics to experimental medicine studies and early-phase clinical trials.