The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has appointed Dr Gail Carson as its new Chief Medical Advisor and Professor Robin May as its Chief Scientific Officer.
Dr Carson, who will take up the role in January 2027, has also worked with WHO on diseases including Ebola, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, H1N1, SARS and H5N1.
She is currently Director of Network Development for the international clinical research network (ISARIC) at the University of Oxford, which she helped establish in 2011. Dr Carson is also a past Chair of Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), a World Health Organization network of partners.
Professor May has been the interim CSO at UKHSA since September 2025. He is also Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham and was previously Chief Scientific Advisor at the Food Standards Agency (FSA). His research expertise spans microbiology and infection, with broader experience in scientific risk assessment and evidence-based policy development.
UKHSA Chief Executive Professor Susan Hopkins said: "I am delighted to welcome Dr Gail Carson as our new Chief Medical Advisor and to confirm Professor Robin May’s permanent appointment as Chief Scientific Officer. Between them, they bring a wealth of clinical and scientific expertise, from frontline outbreak response to cutting-edge infectious disease research, that spans decades and reaches right across the globe. Their knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we continue to deliver on UKHSA’s mission to protect the public from health threats and I look forward to working with them both."
