Louise Kenny

Louise Kenny
CBE
Born1970 (age 55–56)
Liverpool
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool
Scientific career
WorkplacesUniversity of Liverpool
ThesisThe role of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in normal and compromised pregnancies (2003)

Louise Clare Kenny (born 1970) is a British physician who is a Professor of Fetal and Maternal Health and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool. She was appointed a 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 focused 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 Pro Vice Chancellor.. At Liverpool, Kenny leads a Wellcome-funded research programme that looks to improve the health of children who grow up in Liverpool City.[9] Kenny is currently Chair of the Northern Health Science Alliance[10] and Chief Executive Officer of Liverpool Health Partners. [11]

Awards and honours

Kenny was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to research in the NHS.[14][15][16] Together with her husband, Dr Matthew Hewitt, also a Gynaecologist, Kenny was conferred with Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in March 2026.[17] She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in June 2026.[18]

Selected publications

  • Mark A Brown; Laura A Magee; Louise C Kenny; et al. (1 July 2018). "Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: ISSHP Classification, Diagnosis, and Management Recommendations for International Practice". Hypertension. 72 (1): 24–43. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.117.10803. ISSN 0194-911X. PMID 29899139. Wikidata Q89093946.
  • Ali S Khashan; Kathryn M. Abel; Roseanne McNamee; Marianne G Pedersen; Roger T. Webb; Philip Baker; Louise Kenny; Preben Bo Mortensen (1 February 2008). "Higher risk of offspring schizophrenia following antenatal maternal exposure to severe adverse life events". JAMA Psychiatry. 65 (2): 146–152. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2007.20. ISSN 2168-622X. PMID 18250252. Wikidata Q50873408.
  • Louise Kenny; David I Broadhurst; Warwick Dunn; et al. (1 October 2010). "Robust early pregnancy prediction of later preeclampsia using metabolomic biomarkers". Hypertension. 56 (4): 741–749. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.110.157297. ISSN 0194-911X. PMID 20837882. Wikidata Q46329980.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Louise Kenny: Obstetrician on a mission". BMJ. 362 k3214. 15 August 2018. doi:10.1136/bmj.k3214. ISSN 0959-8138. PMID 30111532. S2CID 52009375.
  2. ↑ "Louise Kenny - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - University of Liverpool". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ↑ mikecunneen. "Who We Are". INFANT. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Ahlstrom, Dick. "Cork professors named joint winners of researcher of the year award". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Tannam, Ellen (11 July 2018). "Prof Louise Kenny on how the Repeal battle was fought online". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Clark, Stuart. "Louise Kenny: On separating medical facts from religious dogma, and what needs to be done to secure a 'Yes'". Hotpress. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Davies, Rachael (15 September 2018). "Louise Kenny: pioneer in maternal and perinatal health". The Lancet. 392 (10151): 907. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32122-6. ISSN 0140-6736. S2CID 54384662.
  8. ↑ McMahon, Aine. "Eighth Amendment 'casts shadow' over care for pregnant women". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Children Growing Up in Liverpool (C-GULL) - Research - University of Liverpool". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  10. ↑ https://www.thenhsa.co.uk/meet-the-board/
  11. ↑ https://liverpoolhealthpartners.org.uk/professor-louise-kenny-ceo/
  12. ↑ accelwpadmin (21 August 2019). "Prof Louise Kenny short listed for the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards". IMPROvED. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Gudauskyte, Gabriele. "Prof. Louise Kenny: Science Hero". INFANT. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N9.
  15. ↑ "The 2022 New Year's Honours list in full, and what the different ranks mean". inews.co.uk. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "New Year Honours for University of Liverpool Professors - Articles - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences - University of Liverpool". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  17. ↑ https://www.rcpi.ie/News/49-doctors-awarded-at-rcpi-institute-of-obstetricians-gynaecologists-admission-ceremony
  18. ↑ "Academy of Medical Sciences announces new Fellows for 2026". Academy of Medical Sciences. 21 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
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