Louise Kenny Explained

Louise Kenny
Birth Place:Liverpool
Workplaces:University of Liverpool
Alma Mater:University of Liverpool
Thesis Title:The role of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in normal and compromised pregnancies
Thesis Url:http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1252127555
Thesis Year:2003

Louise Clare Kenny (born 1970) is a British physician who is Professor and Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool. She was elected an Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours.

Early life and education

Kenny was born and raised in Liverpool.[1] Her grandparents were Irish immigrants who moved to Liverpool during the Great Depression.[1] Her mother was born during the Liverpool Blitz, an attack that killed Kenny's great aunt and her children.[1] Kenny has said that she always wanted to become a doctor.[1] As a teenager, she worked in a café in the Great Homer Street market.[1] She studied medicine at the University of Liverpool, where she initially intended to become a cardiologist.[2] She changed her mind the moment she saw a baby being born.[1] After training as a senior house officer, she started a doctoral research programme at the University of Nottingham funded by the Medical Research Council and WellBeing for Women.[1]

Career

In 2006, Kenny was appointed a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Cork University Hospital. She specialised in hypertensive disease of pregnancy.

In 2013, Kenny founded the Science Foundation Ireland Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT), which is based at the University College Cork.[3] The centre focusses on improving health outcome for mothers and babies around the world. INFANT is involved with various studies into issues that impact pregnant women, including pre-eclampsia, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction.[4] At INFANT, Kenny focussed on the identification of biomarkers that may indicate women are at risk of pre-eclampsia.[4] Kenny was involved with overturning the Irish ban on abortion.[1] [5] [6] [7] [8]

In 2017, Kenny moved to the University of Liverpool, where she was made Executive Pro Vice Chancellor. Geraldine Boylan was appointed Director of the INFANT upon her departure. At Liverpool, Kenny is part of a research programme that looks to improve the health of children who grow up in Liverpool City.[9]

Awards and honours

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to research in the NHS.[12] [13]

Notes and References

  1. Group. British Medical Journal Publishing. 2018-08-15. Louise Kenny: Obstetrician on a mission. BMJ. en. 362. k3214. 10.1136/bmj.k3214. 0959-8138. 30111532. 52009375 .
  2. Web site: Louise Kenny - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - University of Liverpool. 2022-01-01. www.liverpool.ac.uk.
  3. Web site: mikecunneen. Who We Are. 2022-01-01. INFANT. en-GB.
  4. News: Ahlstrom. Dick. Cork professors named joint winners of researcher of the year award. 2022-01-01. The Irish Times. en.
  5. Web site: Tannam. Ellen. 2018-07-11. Prof Louise Kenny on how the Repeal battle was fought online. 2022-01-01. Silicon Republic. en.
  6. Web site: Clark. Stuart. Louise Kenny: On separating medical facts from religious dogma, and what needs to be done to secure a 'Yes'. 2022-01-01. Hotpress.
  7. Davies. Rachael. 2018-09-15. Louise Kenny: pioneer in maternal and perinatal health. The Lancet. English. 392. 10151. 907. 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32122-6. 54384662 . 0140-6736.
  8. News: McMahon. Aine. Eighth Amendment 'casts shadow' over care for pregnant women. 2022-01-01. The Irish Times. en.
  9. Web site: Children Growing Up in Liverpool (C-GULL) - Research - University of Liverpool. 2022-01-01. www.liverpool.ac.uk.
  10. Web site: accelwpadmin. Prof Louise Kenny short listed for the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards. 2022-01-01. IMPROvED. 21 August 2019 . en-GB.
  11. Web site: Gudauskyte. Gabriele. Prof. Louise Kenny: Science Hero. 2022-01-01. INFANT. en-GB.
  12. Web site: 2021-12-31. The 2022 New Year's Honours list in full, and what the different ranks mean. 2022-01-01. inews.co.uk. en.
  13. Web site: New Year Honours for University of Liverpool Professors - Articles - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences - University of Liverpool. 2022-01-01. www.liverpool.ac.uk.