Meet Jeremy Farrar, WHO’s New Chief Scientist Who Will Replace Soumya Swaminathan

Jeremy Farrar, clinician scientist, will replace Soumya Swaminathan as World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Chief.

Geneva: Dr. Jeremy Farrar, a clinician scientist, will replace Soumya Swaminathan as World Health Organization (WHO)’s new Chief Scientist, the organisation announced on Tuesday. As it prepares for a post-pandemic future, Dr. Farrar will join the WHO in the second quarter of 2023.

ANNOUNCEMENT????Dr Jeremy Farrar will become the new Chief Scientist of WHO. Currently, he is the Director of Wellcome Trust. Dr Farrar will join WHO in the second quarter of 2023.
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— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 13, 2022

According to a statement by the WHO, as Chief Scientist, Dr. Farrar will oversee the Science Division, “bringing together the best brains in science and innovation from around the world to develop and deliver high quality health services to the people who need them most, no matter who they are and where they live”.

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT JEREMY FARRAR:

• Jeremy Farrar is a clinician scientist who spent 17 years as Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam
• There, researched in global health with a focus on emerging infectious diseases.
• He is currently, the head of Wellcome Trust, which he joined in 2013.
• “Under Dr Farrar, Wellcome has taken an increasingly global outlook, focusing on funding discovery research projects to transform understanding of life, health and well-being, and supporting science-based solutions to address three urgent challenges: infectious disease, mental health, and the effects of climate change on health,” the WHO statement said.
• Farrar is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences UK, European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), the National Academies USA and a Fellow of The Royal Society.

“As Chief Scientist, Jeremy will accelerate our efforts to ensure WHO, its Member States and our partners benefit from cutting-edge, life-saving science and innovations,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.