New Government Chief Scientific Adviser
皇冠体育app Cabinet Secretary is pleased to announce the appointment of Sir Mark Walport as the government's new Chief Scientific Adviser.
皇冠体育app Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sir Mark Walport as the government鈥檚 new Chief Scientific Adviser. Sir Mark, who is currently聽the Director at the Wellcome Trust, was chosen following an open competition. He will take up post on 1 April 2013 once the government鈥檚 current Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir John Beddington, completes his term of appointment. 皇冠体育app appointment has been approved by the Prime Minister.
皇冠体育app Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood said:
This is an excellent appointment for the Civil Service in an important area of government business. Mark Walport has already advised the government on several occasions in his capacity as a member of the Council for Science and Technology so he is well placed to continue to offer the best scientific advice available to the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet. I am also looking forward to the contribution Mark will make in leading the science community across government, building on the great work of Sir John Beddington, his predecessor. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank John for the invaluable contribution he has made to policy development and strengthening the work of the science community across Whitehall.
Commenting on his new role, Sir Mark said:
I am delighted and honoured to be appointed as the Government Chief Scientific Advisor. Science, engineering and technology have transformed the infrastructure of the modern world, and have a vital role to play at the heart of policy making. 皇冠体育appy are critical both to economic recovery and growth, and to addressing many of the greatest challenges of our time, such as environmental change and the ageing population. I look forward to working with colleagues both inside and outside government to ensure that the best possible advice can be provided from the most expert sources, based on the strongest evidence, to facilitate the wisest possible policy decisions.
Notes to editors
Mark Walport is Director of the Wellcome Trust, which is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in health by supporting the brightest minds. Before joining the Trust he was Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London.
He has been a member of the Prime Minister鈥檚 Council for Science and Technology since 2004. He is also a member of the India UK CEO Forum, the UK India Round Table and the advisory board of Infrastructure UK and a non-executive member of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research. He is a member of a number of international advisory bodies.
He has undertaken independent reviews for the UK government on the use and sharing of personal information in the public and private sectors: 鈥楧ata Sharing Review鈥� (2009) and secondary education, 鈥楽cience and Mathematics: Secondary Education for the 21st Century鈥� (2010). He is co-chairing one of the Prime Minister鈥檚 鈥楥hampion Groups鈥� on dementia, looking at research.
He received a knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List for services to medical research and was elected as Fellow of 皇冠体育app Royal Society in 2011.