Sir Mark Walport announced as new AE Cardiff Hub Steering Group Chair
Sir Mark Walport FRS FMedSci MAE, the UK’s Government Chief Scientific Adviser between 2013 and 2017 and the Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) from 2017 to 2020, is to be AE Cardiff’s new Steering Group Chair.
The announcement was made at AE Cardiff’s fifth annual steering group meeting which took place on 16th September. At the meeting, Professor Ole Petersen FRS, Director of the AE Cardiff Hub, informed that the AE Cardiff Hub Steering Group’s first Chair, Sir John Skehel FRS, would be stepping down due to other work commitments.
Professor Petersen said,
“I would like to express my profound gratitude to Sir John for his important contributions to the Academia Europaea and the Cardiff Hub, and especially for his crucial support for AE’s 30th anniversary celebrations at the Royal Society in 2018. We warmly welcome Sir Mark as the Group’s new Chair and very much look forward to his leadership.”
Sir Mark recently took the role of discussant at an international webinar on Science Advice and COVID 19, co-organised by the AE Cardiff Hub and hosted by SAPEA. Over 240 participants from 36 countries saw a distinguished panel of speakers give their perspectives on how effectively Europe’s science advice systems are dealing with the current coronavirus crisis.
About Sir Mark Walport
Sir Mark Walport FRS FMedSci MAE was Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) from 2017 to 2020, the UK’s Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Wellcome Trust from 2003 to 2013. Sir Mark was a Professor of Medicine at Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital from July 1997 – May 2003. His fields of scholarship include immunology – particularly the complement system, rheumatology – in particular systemic lupus erythematosus, apoptosis and medical science policy.
Throughout his career, Sir Mark has received numerous honours including the Roche Rheumatology Prize (1991) and the Graham Bull Prize in Clinical Science (1996). He became an Honorary Member of the American Association of Physicians in 2001 and of the Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 2014. In 2006, he joined the Fellowship of Imperial College and in 2009, he was knighted for services to medical research. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2011 and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2017. Sir Mark was elected to the Academia Europaea in 2012.
Details from AE’s website.
About the Steering Group
The Steering Group plays an important role in shaping the Hub’s future priorities and activities. Five meetings have taken place since the Hub opened in 2016. Meet the Steering Group members.