MHRA chief executive awarded knighthood

Professor Kent Woods is recognised for his services to healthcare

Professor Kent Woods, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK, has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2011 for his services to healthcare.

Woods qualified in medicine from Cambridge in 1972, followed by higher clinical training in Birmingham and epidemiological training at Harvard School of Public Health.

In 1984 he was appointed senior lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology at Leicester University, where he now holds a personal chair in therapeutics. His clinical and research interests have been in coronary heart disease.

Prior to this, Woods was regional director of r&d, NHS Executive Trent, from 1995–1999 before becoming director of the NHS Health Technology Assessment programme.

Woods took up the post of chief executive at the MHRA in January 2004.

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