Professor Ruth Andrew

Ruth Andrew is a pharmacist whose research has dissected the roles of glucocorticoid hormones in metabolic disease. She has a keen interest in applied mass spectrometry, for example tracing steroids using stable isotopes, and showing that tissues such as adipose and liver, contribute substantially to the whole-body cortisol pool. Her work helped establish the enzyme, 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1, as a pharmaceutical target in diseases of metabolism and aging. Her translational studies of steroid metabolism by 5α-reductases revealed that patients receiving 5α-reductase inhibitors in prostate disease are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Recently she has developed mass spectrometry imaging to visualise steroid-modifying drugs and their pharmacodynamic outputs spatially in tissues. Ruth served as an Editor for the British Journal of Pharmacology (2016-20), winning an Editorial Performance Award, and continuing as a Review Editor. She is a member of the University of Edinburgh Honours Pharmacology Board, also developing Endocrine Physiology and Pharmacology teaching. She serves as an external examiner for post-graduate biomedical and undergraduate Pharmacy degrees.