Professor Chris Whitty FRS

Professor Christopher Whitty KCB FRCP FRS was Gresham Professor of Physic at Gresham College from 2018 to 2022, and Visiting Professor of Public Health 2015-2018 and again since 2022.  He is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England and the UK Government's Chief Medical Adviser.

He still practices as an NHS Consultant Physician at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. He is involved in many day-to-day public health decisions for the UK.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care and head of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). He was interim Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Science and Engineering Profession and was previously Chief Scientific Adviser at the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Before becoming CMO he was Professor of Public and International Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In these roles he has advised on the health effects of emergencies in several countries.

Professor Whitty has worked as a clinician and in public health and clinical research in the UK, Africa and Asia, mainly in infectious diseases. He undertook his postgraduate training in epidemiology, economics and medical law.