Professor Chris Whitty

Professor Christopher Whitty KCB FRCP FMedSci was Gresham Professor of Physic at Gresham College from 2018 to 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 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, and was previously Visiting Gresham Professor of Public Health. Professor Whitty was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023. 

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

He returned to Gresham as Visiting Professor of Public Health in 2022.