Sir Edward Byrne AC is the fourth President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He joined KAUST as its president on Sept. 1, 2024, after serving as President and Principal of King’s College London from August 2014 to January 2021. Previously, he was President and Vice Chancellor of Monash University in Australia. 

With a broad academic and industry background, Byrne is well-equipped to advance KAUST’s strategy in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 goals, strengthening the university’s research leadership and driving economic development. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 for services to higher education, he brings significant experience and expertise to lead KAUST into a new era of growth and impact. 

Byrne’s distinguished career as a researcher and clinician began in 1978 in Adelaide, South Australia, when he was a neurology registrar. After undertaking a clinical neurology research fellowship in London in 1979, he returned to Australia in 1983 as Director of Neurology at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne. Ten years later, he became the Founding Director of the Melbourne Neuromuscular Research Unit and the Centre for Neuroscience. 

Recognized for his contributions to mitochondrial disease research, Byrne was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006. He served as Dean of Monash University, then as Vice Provost of University College London, before returning to Monash as Vice Chancellor in 2009. There, he restructured the university to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and global research output, leading to the establishment of the Monash campus in Suzhou, China. 

In 2014, Byrne served as a guest professor at Peking University Health Science Center, becoming an honorary citizen of Jiangsu Province. That same year, he was recognized as a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to tertiary education. He was also appointed President and Principal of King’s College London.

From 2019 to 2021, he was Chair of Council for the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). Byrne served as Global Chief Medical Advisor for the Ramsay Health Care Group from 2021 to 2024.

Growing up in northeastern England, Byrne moved to Australia at age 15. He studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Science in 1971, a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, with the highest honors, in 1974, and a Doctor of Medicine in 1982. 

Byrne holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Queensland, a Clinical Science Diploma from the University of Adelaide, and a Doctor of Science from the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Association of Neurology. 

He has received numerous honorary degrees and accolades, including the Queens Square Prize for Neurological Research from the UCL Institute of Neurology. From 2021 to 2024, Byrne served as Distinguished Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the Australian National University (ANU). He is Emeritus Professor of Neurology, King’s College London, and Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Monash University.

In addition to his academic and medical research roles, Byrne has held board positions at multiple commercial biomedical companies, including Cochlear and BUPA. He currently serves as the global chief medical officer of Ramsay Health Care Group and is a member of the Patrons Council for the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria.