Dame Linda Partridge DBE FMedSci FRS

Professor Dame Linda Partridge DBE FRS is a world-renowned geneticist. She is the founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne and a Professorial Fellow at the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing.

Linda studies the processes and genetics of ageing, the mechanisms that can extend lifespan in model organisms and also age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Her work has applications in the development of new treatments for these diseases, as well as in maintaining good health as we age.

Her research is directed to understanding both how the rate of ageing evolves in nature and the mechanisms by which healthy lifespan can be extended in laboratory model organisms, particular the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Her work has focused in particular on the role of nutrient-sensing pathways, such as the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signalling pathway, and on dietary restriction.

Her current focus is on pharmacological treatments that ameliorate the human ageing process to produce a broad-spectrum improvement in health during ageing.

Linda has been afforded many honours in recognition of her work, including — in 2009 — both the Royal Society’s Croonian Lecture and the Darwin–Wallace Medal of the Linnean Society of London. Linda has been elected to many prestigious scientific organisations, including the Academy of Medical Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2009, Linda was named a DBE for her services to science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1996.

Professional position

  • Biological Secretary and Vice-President, The Royal Society

Subject groups

  • Molecules of Life

    Cell biology (incl molecular cell biology), Biochemistry and molecular biology

  • Cell Biology

    Developmental biology, Genetics (excluding population genetics)

  • Multicellular Organisms

    Development and control of behaviour, Endocrinology and reproduction (non-clinical)

  • Patterns in Populations

    Biological statistics, Organismal biology (including invertebrate and vertebrate zoology), Ethology, Evolution, Ecology (incl behavioural ecology), Population genetics, Biological modelling

Awards

  • Croonian Medal and Lecture

    On 'The new biology of ageing'.

Dame Linda Partridge DBE FMedSci FRS
Elected 1996
Committees Participated Role
General Purposes Committee January 2024 - November 2024 Member
Committee Advising Council on Honorary Candidates January 2023 - November 2024 Ex-Officio
Publishing Board January 2023 - January 2023 Chair
Committee Advising Council on General Candidates November 2022 - October 2024 Co-Chair
Grants Committee January 2022 - December 2024 Chair
Research Professorships Panel December 2019 - December 2026 Chair
Science Policy Committee December 2019 - November 2024 Ex-Officio
Biological Sciences Awards Committee December 2019 - November 2024 Chair
Science Policy Expert Advisory Committee December 2019 - November 2024 Ex-Officio
Council November 2019 - November 2024 Biological Secretary
Premier Awards Committee January 2019 - November 2024 Co-Chair
Genetic Technologies Contact Group January 2018 - December 2018 Member
UK Research and the European Union Working Group December 2015 - December 2017 Member
Premier Awards Committee November 2015 - December 2017 Member
Hooke Committee January 2011 - December 2015 Ex-Officio
Council December 2010 - November 2012 Member
Rosalind Franklin Award Committee January 2010 - December 2013 Chair
Biological Sciences Awards Committee January 2000 - December 2002 Member
Council December 1999 - November 2001 Member
Sectional Committee 9: Patterns in populations November 1996 - November 1999 Chair