Patrick Vallance, president of research and development at the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, has been appointed as chief scientific adviser, the UK government announced on 8 November.
AsSIST-UK member and science policy expert, James Wilsdon, c hopes that Vallance will act as a bridge between the science community and policymakers, and will be open to a wide range of people and perspectives. The network of chief scientific advisers is not yet operating at full strength, he says, “so re-energising the collegiality and connectivity of that network though Whitehall is a really important thing”.