Professor Kenneth Baillie (BSc(Hons) MBChB PhD FRCA FRCP FFICM FRSE FMedSci)
Professor of Experimental Medicine

- Pandemic Science Hub
- The Roslin Institute
- Human Genetics Unit
Contact details
Address
- Street
-
The Roslin Institute
Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian - City
- Post code
- EH25 9RG
Background
Kenny is Professor of Experimental Medicine, Co-director of the Baillie Gifford Pandemic Science Hub, and a consultant in critical care medicine at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in Physiology in 1999 and Medicine in 2002. As a medical student he founded a high-altitude research charity, Apex, which has supported 7 student-led research expeditions over the past 20 years. After basic training in internal medicine in Glasgow, and in anaesthesia in Edinburgh, he was appointed to the ECAT (Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track) at the University of Edinburgh in 2008, completing a PhD in statistical genetics in 2013 and clinical training in intensive care medicine in 2014. After a period at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, he returned to Edinburgh to lead a research group based at the Roslin Institute and the Centre for Inflammation Research. He has advised the World Health Organisation and UK government on multiple outbreaks of infectious disease. He has provided global leadership on research preparedness for pandemics, writing the protocol that was used in China for the very first description of novel coronavirus disease and leading UK-wide research to characterise the illness. He contributed to the design and set-up of the clinical trials that discovered the first four effective treatments for severe COVID-19, and discovered a genetic clue that led directly to one of those treatments - the first example of translation from host genetics to drug treatment in an infectious disease. He has been recognised with fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Medical Sciences, has obtained over £100M in research funding, and is among the top 0.1% most highly-cited researchers worldwide across fields.
Research summary
Translational genomics in critical care medicine.
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CAGE sequencing reveals CFTR-dependent dysregulation of type I IFN signaling in activated cystic fibrosis macrophages
(17 pages)
In:
Science Advances, vol. 9, pp. 1-17
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adg5128
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
GWAS and meta-analysis identifies 49 genetic variants underlying critical Covid-19
(30 pages)
In:
Nature, vol. 617, pp. 763-793
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06034-3
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Adeno-associated virus 2 infection in children with non-A-E hepatitis
(25 pages)
In:
Nature, pp. 1-25
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05948-2
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children
(36 pages)
In:
Nature, pp. 1-36
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06003-w
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses associate with sex, age and disease severity in previously uninfected people admitted to hospital with COVID-19: An ISARIC4C prospective study
(12 pages)
In:
Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 14, pp. 1-13
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1146702
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
The P323L substitution in the SARS-CoV-2 polymerase (NSP12) confers a selective advantage during infection
(22 pages)
In:
Genome Biology, vol. 24, pp. 1-23
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-023-02881-5
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Variation in ERAP2 has opposing effects on severe respiratory infection and autoimmune disease
(11 pages)
In:
American Journal of Human Genetics, vol. 110, pp. 691-702
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.02.008
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Characteristics and outcomes of an international cohort of 600 000 hospitalized patients with COVID-19
(21 pages)
In:
International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 52, pp. 355-376
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyad012
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
The molecular basis of differential host responses to avian influenza viruses in avian species with differing susceptibility
(16 pages)
In:
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, vol. 13, pp. 1-17
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1067993
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Patient emergency healthcare trajectories preceding COVID-19 hospitalisation and longer term outcomes: a national cohort study
In:
The Lancet Digital Health
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press)