Patrick Vallance
The Lord Vallance of Balham | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation | |
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Andrew Griffith |
| Government Chief Scientific Adviser | |
| In office 4 April 2018 – 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Whitty (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Dame Angela McLean |
| National Technology Advisor | |
| In office 2020–2023 | |
| Preceded by | Liam Maxwell |
| Succeeded by | Dave Smith |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 18 July 2024 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick John Thompson Vallance 17 March 1960 Essex, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Sophia Ann Dexter (m. 1986) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | St George's, University of London (BSc, MBBS) |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | |
Patrick John Thompson Vallance, Baron Vallance of Balham (born 17 March 1960), is a British physician, scientist, life peer, and clinical pharmacologist who has served as Minister of State for Science in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024. He previously served as HM Government chief scientific adviser from 2018 to 2023.
From 1986 to 1995, Vallance taught at St George's Hospital Medical School, where his research concentrated on vascular biology and endothelial cell physiology. In 1995, he was appointed a professor at UCL Medical School, and in 2002 he became head of UCL's department of medicine. From 2012 to 2018, he was president of Research and Development (R&D) at the global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). He served as chairman of the Natural History Museum's board of trustees between 2022 and 2024.
In March 2020, as HM Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Vallance appeared alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, in televised briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2022 New Year Honours for "services to public health". In July 2024, Vallance was appointed Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation by Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the Labour Party's victory at the 2024 general election.