Professor Chris Whitty was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health in January 2016. He was appointed Deputy Government Chief Scientific Adviser in April 2017 for an interim period.

He is currently the Professor of Public and International Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a Consultant Physician in acute medicine and infectious diseases at University College London Hospitals and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. He is also Visiting Gresham Professor of Public Health at Gresham College.

He was previously Chief Scientific Adviser and Director of Research and Evidence at the Department for International Development.

Chris is an epidemiologist and physician. Prior to joining DH he was Chair of the Department of Health National Expert Panel on New and Emerging Infections (NEPNEI) and the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP).

Chief Scientific Adviser

Responsibilities include:

• overall responsibility for the DH research and development budget which includes the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)
• research policy and supporting evidenced based decision making capacity in the Department.
• member of the department’s senior leadership team and executive board