Rate My Professor Wendy Barclay

Professor Wendy Barclay is the Regius Professor of Infectious Disease, Chair in Influenza Virology, and Head of the Department of Infectious Disease in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. She also holds the Action Medical Research Professor of Virology position. Barclay earned her degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and completed her PhD at the Common Cold Unit in Salisbury, where she studied recurrent cold infections in human volunteers. She held postdoctoral appointments at the University of Reading and Mount Sinai Medical Centre in New York, acquiring expertise in molecular virology. In 1995, she returned to the University of Reading as a junior lecturer and established a research group focused on influenza viruses. In May 2007, she joined Imperial College London as Chair in Influenza Virology, later becoming the inaugural Head of the Department of Infectious Disease in 2019 and Regius Professor in 2025, making her the first woman to hold this title at the institution.

Barclay's research specializes in the molecular mechanisms underlying respiratory virus infections, particularly influenza viruses, encompassing seasonal strains, zoonotic avian influenza with pandemic potential, and their adaptation to human hosts. Her laboratory investigates evolutionary dynamics, host range expansion, virus-host interactions including the key role of the ANP32A protein in replication and host restriction, and strategies to block transmission. Her team conducted the world's first SARS-CoV-2 human challenge study, advancing understanding of emerging pathogens, and leads efforts on threats like H5N1 through consortia such as G2P. Barclay advises on national and international panels, including the UK New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, DEFRA exotic diseases group, Roslin and Pirbright Institutes, and previously chaired the Microbiology Society Virus Division as its first female leader. She engages in public communication via the Science Media Centre and has mentored researchers now at organizations like the UK Health Security Agency, WHO Collaborating Centre, and Pirbright Institute. Her impactful contributions earned a CBE in 2022 for virology and COVID-19 research, the Microbiology Society Prize Medal in 2023, Peter Wildy Prize in 2016, Barcroft Medal in 2023, Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019, and EMBO membership in 2024.