In June 2021, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new Office for Science and Technology Strategy (OSTS) and National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), with Sir Patrick Vallance taking up the new role of National Technology Adviser (NTA). We are delighted to host Sir Patrick for a keynote speech introducing his new role and the OSTS to the research and innovation community, followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
This event was the start of an ongoing exchange between OSTS and the research and innovation community on UK strategic advantage, what it means for research and innovation, and the challenges and opportunities it presents.
This event was hosted by the National Academies: the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society.
Sir Patrick Vallance KCB HonFREng FRS FMedSci
Sir Patrick Vallance is former Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and National Technology Adviser (NTA)., and current Chairman of the Natural History Museum. Previously, Patrick worked at GlaxoSmithKline where he was Global President of R&D from 2012 until 2017. During this period, many new medicines were approved for use worldwide, for diseases ranging from HIV to cancer and asthma. Prior to joining GSK, Patrick was Professor of Medicine and led the Division of Medicine at UCL. His personal research was in the area of diseases of blood vessels and endothelial biology.
Dr Flic Gabbay FMedSci
Dr Flic Gabbay FMedSci is the President of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine. She has spent four decades working in drug development, including 11 years in big pharma before founding a CRO sold to PPD, then was CEO of two small biotechs and subsequently founded TranScrip, a leading pharma consultancy in 2008. She has also contributed to standards in R&D, working on numerous global drug development guidelines for rheumatology, epilepsy, ethics, antibiotics, antivirals, respiratory and the pharmaceutical panel for the NHS health technology assessment.
Professor Rana Mitter OBE FBA
Professor Rana Mitter OBE FBA is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, and a Fellow of St Cross College at the University of Oxford. His books include China’s War with Japan: The Struggle for Survival, 1937-1945 (2013), which won the 2014 RUSI/Duke of Westminster’s Medal for Military Literature, and China’s Good War: How World War II is Creating a New Nationalism (2020). He won the 2020 Medlicott Medal from the Historical Association for Service to History. He is a regular presenter for BBC Radio in the UK.
Dr Ilana Wisby
Dr Ilana Wisby is the CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), Europe’s premier player in the quantum revolution. Ilana is a deep tech entrepreneur, a champion for women in technology and leadership, and advisor to the WEF's Global Future Council on Quantum Computing. Ilana's vision is a brighter future that includes everyone; using quantum computers to solve our most pressing challenges. From enabling life-changing drug discoveries to unbreakable cryptography. From unleashing the full potential of AI to unlocking nature's best-kept design secrets. OQC uses the power of quantum to develop technology that will change the world.
Sir Adrian Smith PRS
Sir Adrian Smith is President of the Royal Society. He started his five-year term on 30 November 2020. He is also the Director and Chief Executive of the Turing Institute, the national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. He was knighted in 2011. Adrian is a mathematician with particular expertise in the field of Bayesian statistics. This widely applicable branch of mathematics represents uncertainties in the form of probabilities, which are then modified through the mechanism of Bayes theorem as new information becomes available. Adrian's comprehensive monographs on diverse areas of Bayesian statistics have had a major impact on statistical practice in a wide range of disciplines and application areas.