Ben Woodington

Woodington has a background in chemistry and sensor engineering. Before starting his Ph.D. he worked in medical device research, developing and launching novel drug delivery devices for respiratory health, with products deployed in the U.S. and European markets.⁠[1]

He developed and industrialised intelligent drug delivery systems at Philips and Vectura.⁠[2]

Woodington did his Ph.D. research in bioelectronic medicine at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, working between electrical engineering and clinical neuroscience on better ways to interface electronics with the spinal cord, with applications in pain management and the treatment of spinal cord injury.⁠[1]

He completed his Ph.D. in the laboratory of bioelectronics and materials science professor George Malliaras at the University of Cambridge, researching flexible spinal cord and brain interfaces.⁠[2][3]

In 2018 Woodington met Elise Jenkins while both were carrying out research across neuroengineering and neuro-oncology at the University of Cambridge. Jenkins, an electrical engineer, also completed her Ph.D. under Malliaras, studying the electrical characteristics of cancer.⁠[2]

On June 25, 2021, Woodington was first author of “Electronics with shape actuation for minimally invasive spinal cord stimulation” in Science Advances, listed with the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. The paper describes a device combining thin, flexible electronics with integrated fluidic channels that can be rolled into the shape of a standard percutaneous needle, implanted, and then unfurled in situ into a paddle-type electrode; the device and implantation procedure were validated in vitro and on human cadaver models.⁠[4]

Woodington co-founded the cancer neurotechnology company Coherence Neuro with Jenkins; the company gives 2022 as its founding year. Woodington is chief executive and Jenkins chief technology officer.⁠[2]

In a podcast interview published in March 2026 he recalled that Jenkins had shown him the research results about four years earlier.⁠[5]

In 2023 Coherence developed its first implants to measure and modulate brain tumors in real time and ran the first safety study of SOMA-1. The venture firm Blackbird invested in the company in 2023.⁠[2][3]

In 2024 Coherence launched its first pipeline indication, in pancreatic cancer.⁠[2]

In May 2024 Woodington was first author of “Flexible circumferential bioelectronics to enable 360-degree recording and stimulation of the spinal cord” in Science Advances, which introduced thin-film, flexible electronics that wrap around the spinal cord and record from and stimulate its dorsal, lateral and ventral tracts with a single device. The work captured and elicited motor and sensory signals in anesthetized rats, demonstrated a proof-of-concept closed-loop system for bridging complete spinal cord injuries, verified device safety in freely moving rodents and showed potential for human use in a cadaver model.⁠[6]

The research was co-led by George Malliaras and Damiano Barone. The team said the implant could eventually bypass complete spinal cord injuries without brain surgery, though such a treatment was years away, and that in the nearer term they planned to use it to monitor spinal cord activity during surgery.⁠[7]

In 2025 Coherence expanded to the United States, opening a San Francisco office and an in vivo facility for pipeline expansion.⁠[2]

In an episode of The HumanWare Project released on May 12, 2025, Woodington discussed having chosen between applying AI in healthcare and neurotechnology, and choosing neurotechnology.⁠[8]

In an Owl Posting podcast episode published on March 2, 2026, Woodington and Jenkins discussed Coherence’s work. Woodington said: “We’re really leveraging the intrinsic electrical properties of cancer.”⁠[5]

He said on the episode that the company had raised a pre-seed round of about $2.5 million at the end of 2022 and early 2023, and had very recently closed a $10 million seed round.⁠[5]

On commercialising medical devices he said: “Reimbursement is your biggest threat and challenge in devices, always.”⁠[5]

On June 23, 2026 Coherence announced that it had started its first-in-human trial at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia, led by neurosurgeon Andrew Morokoff. The trial uses an investigational device called the CIPHER System, a flexible, electrode-dense thin-film cortical probe designed both to record brain activity and to deliver electrical stimulation, initially for neurophysiological mapping and stimulation during brain tumor resection surgery, evaluating safety, basic performance and handling during short intraoperative use. The company developed the device and obtained Human Research Ethics (HREC) approval in under 15 months; the device is not approved by Australia’s TGA or the U.S. FDA.⁠[9]

In the announcement Woodington said that while “the transition to a clinical stage company is a phenomenal achievement, our real work is only just beginning,” adding: “We are developing the world’s first platform to record and modulate cancer in real time.”⁠[9]

Neuralink’s head neurosurgeon Matthew MacDougallMatthew MacDougallMatthew MacDougall is an American neurosurgeon who has worked with Neuralink since 2017 as its head of neurosurgery, led the company’s first human brain–computer interface implant, and keeps a clinical practice in San Francisco.Open the full entry is an advisor to and investor in Coherence and, with Neuralink neurosurgeon Rory Murphy, is slated to be involved in U.S. clinical trials planned over the coming years.⁠[9]

In October 2026 Coherence announced a $45 million Series A co-led by Founders FundFounders FundFounders Fund is a venture capital firm founded in San Francisco in 2005 by Peter Thiel and his former PayPal colleagues Ken Howery and Luke Nosek. Run by partners who were entrepreneurs themselves, it argues that founders should keep more control and is known for betting on difficult technology projects in areas such as space, defense, and artificial intelligence. It was Palantir’s first institutional investor, has invested in SpaceX many times since 2008, and its other notable investments include Facebook, Airbnb, Stripe, and Anduril; as of March 2026 it had raised nine early-stage funds and four growth funds.Open the full entry and the OpenAI Startup FundOpenAI Startup FundThe OpenAI Startup Fund is a venture fund set up by OpenAI in May 2021 with an initial $100 million from Microsoft and other partners to invest in early-stage AI companies. It had raised about $175 million by 2023, and control passed to Ian Hathaway in March 2024.Open the full entry. New investors included Lux CapitalLux CapitalLux Capital is a U.S. venture capital firm founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Josh Wolfe and Robert Paull, with offices in New York and Silicon Valley. Focused on emerging science and technology, the firm backs companies in fields including life sciences, artificial intelligence, robotics, manufacturing, aerospace and defense through fund investments and by helping to found companies.Open the full entry, 8VC, Timeless, Olive Capital and Ahren, with angels including Matthew MacDougall, Rory Murphy, Romina Nejad, Chad Byers and Maor Shlomo; earlier backers Blackbird, Possible, Topology, Artesian, XEIA, Xtal and Divergent invested again.⁠[10][11]

The funding is to support a first chronic human trial in glioblastoma, regulatory work with the U.S. FDA and expansion into other cancer indications. In the announcement, signed jointly with Jenkins, Woodington wrote: “We’re inventing cancer therapy that learns.” The company has offices in San Francisco and Cambridge, UK.⁠[11][10]

Coherence Neuro: Official website: https://www.coherenceneuro.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]

X: Public account: https://x.com/WoodingtonBen (opens in a new window).⁠[1]