Regis Baker Kelly

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

is a

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

and

university administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

who develops academia-industry partnerships and supports early-stage entrepreneurship in the

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

Early life

Kelly grew up in a working-class family in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He graduated from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

with a bachelor's degree in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

in 1961. Kelly earned a doctorate in

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

in 1967. He went on to pursue postdoctoral studies under Nobel Laureate

Arthur Kornberg Arthur Kornberg (March 3, 1918 – October 26, 2007) was an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959 for the discovery of "the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic a ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, examining mechanisms of

DNA replication In molecular biology, DNA replication is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA molecule. DNA replication occurs in all life, living organisms, acting as the most essential part of heredity, biolog ...

. He switched fields to

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

during a second postdoctoral fellowship under the direction of Zach Hall at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Kelly joined the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

(UCSF) in 1971. He began as an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. His neurobiology research explored biochemical mechanisms of synaptic transmission and neural plasticity involved in long-term memory. While at UCSF Kelly was appointed chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (1995–2000), director of the graduate program in Cell Biology (1988–1995) and director of the Hormone Research Institute (1992–2000). During this time he served on the editorial boards of scientific journals, including ''

Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...

'', ''The Journal of Cell Biology'', ''The Journal of Membrane Biology'', ''Trends in Neurosciences'', and ''Traffic''. He also served on the national committee for the Council of American Society for Cell Biology from 1989 to 1992. In 2000 Kelly was appointed executive vice-chancellor of UCSF. As chancellor he directed the construction of the new UCSF Mission Bay Campus and oversaw the UCSF research enterprise. In 2004 Kelly retired as executive vice-chancellor and took the position of director of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), one of the four Governor Gray Davis Institutes for Science and Innovation. As director Kelly's stated goal is to promote academic research as a means to improve public health and drive economic growth. To accomplish this he bridges academia with commercial industries and entrepreneurship ventures. In addition Kelly, with QB3's associate director Douglas Crawford, created the first startup incubator at the University of California—the QB3 Garage, which has expanded into a network of five incubators hosting over 40 companies. Under Kelly's direction QB3 has initiated Bridging-the-Gap Awards and the Start-up-In-A-Box Program to fund translational research and provide resources for start-up ventures with the potential for commercialisation. Kelly was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to science, innovation, and global health.

Awards

* 1986, 1992 Jacob Javitz Memorial Award, National Institutes of Health * 1995–2000 Albert Bowers Chair * 1998–2000 Johnson & Johnson Focused Giving Program Award * 2011 San Francisco Bay Area Business Hall of Fame * 2015 Byers Family Distinguished Professorship, UCSF

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Regis B. Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Scientists from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish neuroscientists Scottish expatriates in the United States California Institute of Technology alumni Stanford University faculty Harvard University faculty University of California, San Francisco faculty Year of birth missing (living people)