Dr Kelly Thornber

I am CEO of the new Pharma Pollution Hub and an Associate Member of the University of Exeter.

The Pharma Pollution Hub is a new think tank and registered charity dedicated to finding solutions to reduce the environmental impacts of medicines used in UK healthcare. We are using a systems-based approach to accelerate action in transforming the way we (as a society) demand, supply, use and dispose of pharmaceuticals in healthcare.  We:

1. Connect organisations from across the pharmaceutical life cycle with academic resources and expertise to support them in identifying, developing, testing and evaluating interventions to mitigate pharmaceutical pollution. 

2. Provide independent facilitation for discussions on specific complex issues and challenges relating to pharmaceutical pollution to encourage inclusive dialogue and generate a collective voice. 

3. Advise on and conduct systems-based research to facilitate the collective development of pollution mitigation strategies and co-ordinate their implementation.

About my research:

My research is interdisciplinary and solutions-focused, using systems thinking, engagement and science communication approaches to apply biosciences research to real-world issues. I work with a wide range of external partners from the public, private and social sectors, focusing on:

• Reducing environmental levels of pharmaceutical pollution from human healthcare, by considering this issue from a systems perspective. This work aims to understand the multitude of factors contributing to the release of pharmaceutical waste along the healthcare pharmaceutical life cycle, in order to identify effective solutions.
• Addressing the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in particular finding ways to reduce or mitigate the impacts of environmental antimicrobial pollution or carriage of resistant bacteria.
• Developing more sustainable aquaculture (fish and shrimp farming) practices, both in the UK and globally. This is largely through seeking to improve biosecurity and reduce the need for chemical usage (including antibiotics).

Qualifications:

2003 - 2006 DPhil Biochemistry, Balliol College, University of Oxford

2000 - 2003 BSc(hons) Biochemistry and Biological Chemistry, University of Nottingham

Career:

2025 - present CEO of Pharma Pollution Hub

2019 - present Research Fellow in Sustainable Development, University of Exeter

2017 - 2019 Daphne Jackson Research Fellow (funded by BBSRC), University of Exeter

2011 - 2017 Freelance Science Writer and Owner of Scientific Scripts (science communications business)

2008 - 2010 Scientific Administrator, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

2007 - 2008 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France