Sir Patrick Vallance FRS FMedSci HonFREng

Government Chief Scientific Adviser  

Sir Patrick Vallance was appointed as the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) in 2018 and as National Technology Adviser in 2020. Before joining government he was Global President of R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). During his period as head of R&D many medicines were discovered and approved for use worldwide, for diseases ranging from cancer to asthma and HIV, and the world’s first ever cell and gene therapy product was approved. 

Prior to joining GSK, he was Professor of Medicine and head of the Division of Medicine at UCL. His personal research was in the area of diseases of blood vessels and endothelial biology and he was the first to show that nitric oxide controls blood pressure in humans. 

As Government Chief Scientific Adviser he has led the development of science in the civil service and created an effective network of chief scientists across government.  He has focused on approaches to support innovation, issues of climate nationally and internationally, and provided science advice during the covid pandemic. He created the vaccines task force, bringing together entrepreneurs, industry experts, civil servants and academics.   

Patrick was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999 and to the Royal Society in 2017.