Rachel O'Reilly

Biography

Rachel O’Reilly is Professor of Chemistry and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Birmingham. She previously served as Head of the School of Chemistry and spent a decade at the University of Warwick. She has held major fellowships from the EPSRC, Royal Society and ERC. O’Reilly earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and completed her PhD at Imperial College London in 2003. Her research focuses on catalysis, responsive polymers, advanced materials, nanostructure characterization and DNA nanomaterials. She has published nearly 300 papers and received numerous honors, including the 2025 Tilden Medal and election to the Royal Society in 2022.