Professor Ruth Itzhaki makes STATUS list of top life science influencers
Professor Ruth Itzhaki, who’s pioneering research has advanced our understanding of what causes Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), has made the prestigious for 2025.
For over 30 years Professor Itzhaki, professorial fellow emerita, University of Manchester and visiting professorial fellow, University of Oxford, has pursued the idea that HSV1, the herpes virus that causes cold sores, is a precursor to the development of AD.
The 2025 STATUS List features 50 influential people shaping the future of health and life sciences across biotech, medicine, health care, policy, and health tech.
The list is wide-ranging: from the biotech and health system executives who lead the market, to scientists developing AI technologies and breakthrough therapies, to patient advocates and activists.
At the University of Manchester, Professor Itzhaki’s team discovered that HSV-1 DNA is present in the human brain in a high proportion of older people - the first microbe to be detected definitively in normal human brains.
I am delighted to be included in this year’s STATUS list. It is a great honour and a recognition that my work is finally being accepted by the scientific community
The researchers later indicated that the virus when in the brain, in combination with a specific genetic factor, confers a high risk of developing AD.
She recently co-authored a that suggested that repeated head injuries could reawaken dormant HSV1 virus in the brain, triggering the onset of the disease.
The research team found that even mild brain trauma can trigger this chain reaction, leading to harmful changes associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.
The idea is winning purchase as the “amyloid hypothesis” — which proposes that Alzheimer’s is caused by a protein buildup in the brain — loosens its grip on the scientific community.
The researchers hope their work will pave the way for new treatments to protect against neurodegeneration, particularly for those at high risk due to repeated concussions.
Professor Itzhaki said: “I am delighted to be included in this year’s STATUS list. It is a great honour and a recognition that my work is finally being accepted by the scientific community.
“Most people now accept that dormant Herpes Simplex Virus in the brain can become reactivated and in so doing can trigger the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.”