Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE
Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE is a UK physician and public health specialist with a clinical background in emergency medicine, anaesthesia and infectious diseases. He is an expert on respiratory viruses and pandemics. His career has taken him to the UK Health Protection Agency which latterly became Public Health England, the World Health Organization, and the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries, and finally the University of Nottingham Medical School (where he originally trained).
Jonathan was subsequently posted from his university, to the Department of Health and Social Care in 2017-22 as England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer. He became well-known for his leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly his unique, no-nonsense, communication style from the podium at No.10 Downing Street.
He received a knighthood from Her late Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, for services to public health. He was awarded the Royal Society’s Attenborough Award and Lecture 2022, for outstanding public engagement in science. Recently retired from full-time employment, Jonathan consults independently ‘when he feels like it’ for a wide range of scientific and corporate clients. He is Honorary Colonel to 306 Hospital Support Regiment Army Reserve, Army Cadet Force Medical Support Officers, and the Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force.
