Academics from UCL STEaPP provide opinion on appointment of UK’s new Chief Scientific Adviser
23 February 2023
Angela McLean, COVID expert and mathematical biologist, has taken over from Patrick Vallance as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister. In an article publish by Nature, Joanna Chataway and James Wilsdon, both from UCL STEaPP, provide comments on her appointment.

As Chief Scientific Adviser, McLean will be responsible for providing counsel to the Prime Minister and his cabinet on science and technology policies; the first woman to do so since the role was established in 1964.
Her previous experience includes being a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), co-chair of the subgroup that used epidemiology, data analysis and mathematical modelling to guide the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chief Scientific Adviser for the Ministry of Defence.

Chataway suggests that McLean’s previous experience with SAGE “could put her in a really good position” to think about reforming the body, stating: “We think about what COVID left us with, and what those decisions made at the time really meant, and we can see that it would have been good to have much more social-science expertise”

To read the full article visit: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00520-4