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“Wellcome Trust director takes World Health Organization role”
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/wellcome-trust-director-takes-world-health-organization-role
December 13, 2022
Infectious disease specialist who came to national prominence during Covid will become WHO chief scientist
The Wellcome Trust’s director, Sir Jeremy Farrar, is to take up the role of chief scientist at the World Health Organization next year.
Sir Jeremy, an infectious disease specialist who became one of the UK’s most high-profile scientists during the Covid pandemic, is stepping down towards the end of his second five-year term at Wellcome, having led the medical charity since 2013.
He will be replaced at Wellcome on an interim basis by Paul Schreier, Wellcome’s chief operating officer and a former deputy vice-chancellor at Macquarie University in Australia, at the end of February. A global search for the permanent chief executive began earlier this year.
Sir Jeremy, a member of the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), whose recent memoir Spike: The Virus vs the People criticised decision-making in Downing Street at the early stages of the pandemic, was responsible for launching Wellcome’s new strategy in 2020.
This will focus the charity’s spending – which will be about £1.6 billion next year – on funding discovery research projects to transform understanding of life, health and well-being, and supporting science-based solutions to address three of the most urgent health challenges facing us all: infectious disease, mental health problems, and the effects of climate change on health.
During Sir Jeremy’s time in office, Wellcome has also led innovations to promote healthy research culture, including the creation of longer career development “discovery” awards which will support individuals and teams for up to eight years, and the introduction of open access publishing mandates.