Mark Walport
Foreign Secretary and Vice President at Royal Society, London/UK
Panellist, Session 2: Pandemic Preparedness and Building Resilience
Sir Mark Walport is Foreign Secretary and Vice President, the Royal Society. He chairs Imperial College Health Partners, Imperial College Academic Health Sciences Centre and the Kennedy Memorial Trust. He is a non-executive board member of NHS England, and trustee of the British Museum, the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, and Health Data Research UK. His previous career highlights include: Founding Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), 2017 to 2020; Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), 2013 to 2017; Member and latterly co-chair of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology; Director of the Wellcome Trust, 2003 to 2013; Professor and Head of the Division of Medicine, Imperial College London 1997 to 2003.
For policymaker to make the best decisions in a crisis, they need the best preparedness and the best expert advice. There are few crises where research is not an important part of preparedness and advice as the crisis unfolds.