“Life as a Government Chief Scientific Officer”

Professor Robin May is Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham and Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Health Security Agency.

Since 2020 Robin has been a Chief Scientific Officer in Government, first at the UK Government’s Food Standards Organisation and more recently at the UK Health Security Agency. He is responsible for scientific oversight of the UK’s response to acute health threats such as infectious diseases or radiological accidents. He leads the UKSHA’s 2500-strong scientific workforce and oversees a wide range of laboratory facilities, including the national high-containment capability and deployable epidemic-response teams, whilst continuing to teach part-time as a Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham.