Pauline Williams is a pharmaceutical physician, formerly SVP and Head of Global Health R&D at GSK. A physician by training, she has spent most of her career in drug discovery and development. She has worked across several therapeutic areas developing new approaches to translational medicine, including creation of a new research unit focusing on innovative models of partnership between pharma and academia.
Pivoting towards global health, Pauline formed the GSK Maternal and Neonatal Health R&D Unit, which included oversight of the research and development activities of the GSK-Save the Children Partnership. She initiated and led a project to develop a chlorhexidine gel product for prevention of neonatal sepsis, for which she was honoured by Save the Children as a Changemaker for Children. She also founded the GSK Non-Communicable Diseases Open Lab which provides support to African researchers to understand and address the rising burden of NCDs in sub-Saharan Africa.
Pauline is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Council Member of the UK Medical Research Council. She was awarded a CBE for services to medical research and development in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List.
Last updated: 11 April 2022