About
About
Chris Whelan, Ph.D., is an Irish scientist based in Boston, MA. He co-founded and led the world's largest studies of circulating proteins (UKB-PPP) and epilepsy brain scans (ENIGMA-Epilepsy) and has driven the adoption of next-generation proteomics in drug discovery & development.
In 2025, after a decade of leadership roles in biopharma, Chris founded Ignition Scientific to advise companies, foundations, and research institutes on the translation of population-scale data into meaningful health impact. Through Ignition, Chris partners with biotechs, nonprofits, and venture incubators to build new scientific initiatives and early-stage companies at the intersection of proteomics, genomics, neuroscience and AI.
Chris Whelan, Ph.D., is an Irish scientist based in Boston, MA. He co-founded and led the world's largest studies of circulating proteins (UKB-PPP) and epilepsy brain scans (ENIGMA-Epilepsy) and has driven the adoption of next-generation proteomics in drug discovery & development.
In 2025, after a decade of leadership roles in biopharma, Chris founded Ignition Scientific to advise companies, foundations, and research institutes on the translation of population-scale data into meaningful health impact. Through Ignition, Chris partners with biotechs, nonprofits, and venture incubators to build new scientific initiatives and early-stage companies at the intersection of proteomics, genomics, neuroscience and AI.
Chris Whelan, Ph.D., is an Irish scientist based in Boston, MA. He co-founded and led the world's largest studies of circulating proteins (UKB-PPP) and epilepsy brain scans (ENIGMA-Epilepsy) and has driven the adoption of next-generation proteomics in drug discovery & development.
In 2025, after a decade of leadership roles in biopharma, Chris founded Ignition Scientific to advise companies, foundations, and research institutes on the translation of population-scale data into meaningful health impact. Through Ignition, Chris partners with biotechs, nonprofits, and venture incubators to build new scientific initiatives and early-stage companies at the intersection of proteomics, genomics, neuroscience and AI.
UKB-PPP
UKB-PPP
In 2020, while leading the Translational Genetics group at Biogen in Cambridge, MA, Chris conceptualized, co-founded and chaired the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project (UKB-PPP). UKB-PPP raised over $20M across 13 companies, funding the world's largest study of circulating biomarkers (2,900 proteins across 55,000 people). Chris was senior corresponding author of the consortium's flagship Nature paper, cited over1,800 times since 2023.
In 2020, while leading the Translational Genetics group at Biogen in Cambridge, MA, Chris conceptualized, co-founded and chaired the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project (UKB-PPP). UKB-PPP raised over $20M across 13 companies, funding the world's largest study of circulating biomarkers (2,900 proteins across 55,000 people). Chris was senior corresponding author of the consortium's flagship Nature paper, cited over1,800 times since 2023.
In 2025, while Head of Molecular Neuroscience & Data Science at Johnson & Johnson, Chris successfully expanded UKB-PPP, raising $27M across 14 biopharma companies and £20M from the U.K. Government. This project will profile over 5,000 plasma proteins across 600,000 blood plasma samples. Following the announcement of this expansion, Chris transitioned his Chairperson role to Melissa Miller, PhD (Pfizer).
In 2025, while Head of Molecular Neuroscience & Data Science at Johnson & Johnson, Chris successfully expanded UKB-PPP, raising $27M across 14 biopharma companies and £20M from the U.K. Government. This project will profile over 5,000 plasma proteins across 600,000 blood plasma samples. Following the announcement of this expansion, Chris transitioned his Chairperson role to Melissa Miller, PhD (Pfizer).
UKB-PPP, PHase 2 (N=600,000)
UKB-PPP, PHase 2 (N=600,000)
Thought Leadership
Thought Leadership
Chris has delivered invited talks and keynote speeches about proteomics and population health at dozens of international events including the annual meetings of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) and the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG). He has been interviewed about his work for The Times, The Independent, The Genetics Podcast and more.
Chris has delivered invited talks and keynote speeches about proteomics and population health at dozens of international events including the annual meetings of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) and the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG). He has been interviewed about his work for The Times, The Independent, The Genetics Podcast and more.
Chris has held increasingly senior roles in pharma, where he has innovated the use of molecular data to drive precision R&D. From 2022 to 2025, he led multi-omics for J&J Neuroscience, where he led multi-omic profiling initiatives across Phase 3 clinical trial samples, post-mortem brains, CSF & blood. From 2018 to 2022, he led therapeutic target discovery & validation at Biogen, where he conceptualized and co-led new drug programs for Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. From 2016 to 2018, he was neuroscience genetics strategy lead at Pfizer, where he discovered new biomarkers and drug targets for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Chris has held increasingly senior roles in pharma, where he has innovated the use of molecular data to drive precision R&D. From 2022 to 2025, he led multi-omics for J&J Neuroscience, where he led multi-omic profiling initiatives across Phase 3 clinical trial samples, post-mortem brains, CSF & blood. From 2018 to 2022, he led therapeutic target discovery & validation at Biogen, where he conceptualized and co-led new drug programs for Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. From 2016 to 2018, he was neuroscience genetics strategy lead at Pfizer, where he discovered new biomarkers and drug targets for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Pharma Innovation
Pharma Innovation
BEYOND PROTEOMICS
BEYOND PROTEOMICS
Chris received his Ph.D. in Diagnostics & Therapeutics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2014 - specializing in neuroscience and human genetics. He subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Southern California, where he founded and led the ENIGMA-Epilepsy neuroimaging consortium - a network of neurology clinics combining tens of thousands of brain scans worldwide. He has published over 60 papers cited 15,000 times across the fields of genetics, neuroscience, precision medicine & more.
Chris received his Ph.D. in Diagnostics & Therapeutics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2014 - specializing in neuroscience and human genetics. He subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Southern California, where he founded and led the ENIGMA-Epilepsy neuroimaging consortium - a network of neurology clinics combining tens of thousands of brain scans worldwide. He has published over 60 papers cited 15,000 times across the fields of genetics, neuroscience, precision medicine & more.