Linda Partridge, born in 1950 in Bath, England, studied and graduated in biology at the University of Oxford. After three years of postdoctoral research at the University of York, she was Demonstrator, Lecturer, Reader and finally Professor at the University of Edinburgh. After many years in Scotland, in 1994 she became Professor of Biometry, University College London. She is both a founding director of the new Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne (emeritus) and Director of the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing.

Linda Partridge’s research is directed to understanding both how the rate of ageing evolves in nature and the mechanisms by which healthy lifespan can be extended in laboratory model organisms. Her work has focussed in particular on the role of nutrient-sensing pathways, such as the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signalling pathway, and on dietary restriction. Her current work is directed to developing pharmacological treatments that ameliorate the human ageing process to produce a broad-spectrum improvement in health during ageing. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a DBE for services to science. She is founding director of the new Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne as well as the Director of the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing.