Director of the Wellcome Trust knighted

13 January 2009

Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, received a knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List for services to medical research.

Dr Walport was appointed Director of the Wellcome Trust in 2003. Before joining the Trust he was Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London, where he led a research group focusing on the immunology and genetics of rheumatic diseases.

He is a board member of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC), UK Research Base Funder's Forum, Health Innovation Council and the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology.

He chaired the Academic Careers Sub-Committee of the UKCRC and Modernising Medical Careers, which reported in 2005. More recently, at the request of the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, he co-chaired with the Information Commissioner an independent review on the use and sharing of personal information in the public and private sectors.

Image credit: Wellcome Images