Jeremy Farrar Explained

Sir Jeremy Farrar
Birth Name:Jeremy James Farrar
Birth Date:1961 9, df=y
Birth Place:Singapore
Nationality:British
Education:Churcher's College
Thesis Title:Analysis of combinatorial immunoglobin libraries from a myasthenia gravis patient
Thesis Url:http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.339366
Thesis Year:1997
Awards:Order of Ho Chi Minh

Sir Jeremy James Farrar [1] (born 1 September 1961) is a British medical researcher who has served as Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization since 2023.[2] He was previously the director of The Wellcome Trust from 2013 to 2023 and a professor of tropical medicine at the University of Oxford.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Early life and education

Born in Singapore, Farrar is the youngest of six children in his family. His father taught English and his mother was a writer and artist. Due to his father's work, he spent his childhood in New Zealand, Cyprus and Libya.[7]

Farrar was educated at Churcher's College[8] and UCL Medical School,[9] from where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in immunology in 1983 and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree in 1986.[10] Farrar completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Oxford in 1998 on myasthenia gravis.[11]

Career and research

Farrar's research interests are in infectious diseases[9] such as tuberculosis,[12] dengue fever,[13] [14] [15] [16] typhoid fever, malaria, and H5N1 influenza.[17] [18] [19] [20]

Career in academia

From 1996 until 2013, Farrar was Director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City.[21] In 2004, he and his Vietnamese colleague Tran Tinh Hien identified the re-emergence of the deadly bird flu, or H5N1, in humans.[22] He was Professor of Tropical Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oxford from 2000 until 2013.

In addition to his academic work, Farrar was part of the Center for Global Development’s Working Group on Priority-Setting Institutions for Global Health in 2012.[23]

Wellcome Trust, 2013–2023

In 2013, Farrar was appointed Director of the Wellcome Trust. During his time at the Wellcome Trust, with Chris Whitty and Neil Ferguson, he co-authored an article in Nature titled "Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission",[24] explaining the UK government's response to Ebola in Sierra Leone, including the proposal to build and support centres where people could self-isolate voluntarily if they suspected that they could have the disease.[25] In July 2015, he co-authored a paper in The New England Journal of Medicine (with Adel Mahmoud and Stanley A. Plotkin), titled "Establishing a Global Vaccine-Development Fund", that led to the founding in 2017 of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).[26] [27] Together with a number of others, in 2016 he proposed a World Serum Bank as a means of helping combat epidemics.[28]

In addition to his role at the Wellcome Trust, Farrar has served as chair on several advisory boards for governments and global organizations. In 2017, he was part of the selection committee chaired by Jules A. Hoffmann that chose Stewart Cole as director of the Institut Pasteur.[29] From 2017 until 2019, he was a member of the German Ministry of Health’s International Advisory Board on Global Health, chaired by Ilona Kickbusch.[30] In 2019 he served on The Lancet Commission on Tuberculosis, co-chaired by Eric Goosby, Dean Jamison and Soumya Swaminathan.[31] He is also a member of the Health and Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council (HBMS IAC) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of Singapore.[32]

In 2020, he was appointed to the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, co-chaired by Sheikh Hasina and Mia Mottley.[33] In the preparations for the Global Health Summit hosted by the European Commission and the G20 in May 2021, he was a member of the event's High Level Scientific Panel.[34]

Farrar has served on a number of WHO committees, co-chairing the World Health Organization’s working group on dengue vaccines from 2015 until 2016.[35] [36] Since its inception in 2017, Farrar has been chairing the Scientific Advisory Group of the WHO R&D Blueprint, a global strategy and preparedness plan that allows the rapid activation of research activities during epidemics.[37] From 2018 to 2022, he served on the joint World Bank/WHO Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), co-chaired by Elhadj As Sy and Gro Harlem Brundtland.[38] [39] In 2019, he co-chaired a WHO committee evaluating Ebola therapeutics.[40] [41]

Farrah has also served on UK governments committees. In May 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he was appointed to the expert advisory group for the UK Government’s Vaccine Task Force. He has also served as a member of the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), led by Patrick Vallance[42] (up to 2 November 2021, when Farrar resigned in disagreement with the government's approach), and Public Health England’s Serology Working Group.[43] During Farrar's time in SAGE, Health Secretary Matt Hancock sought to have him removed from the group following his criticisms of the government's handling of Covid, the abolition of Public Health England (PHE) and the appointment of Dido Harding to head the ineffective and expensive Test and Trace programme.[44]

[45] In July 2021 he published the book Spike: The Virus vs The People, co-authored with Financial Times journalist Anjana Ahuja, giving his account of the UK government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.[46]

Views

On 19 February 2020, Farrar, along with 26 other scientists, published as a co-author of the Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting COVID-19, which declared "We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin."

Farrar wrote an opinion piece in the Guardian on Dec. 4, 2021 stating he feared not enough was being done to vaccinate people in poor nations against COVID-19. Farrar stated, “The longer this virus continues to spread in largely unvaccinated populations globally, the more likely it is that a variant that can overcome our vaccines and treatments will emerge. If that happens, we could be close to square one. This political drift and lack of leadership is prolonging the pandemic for everyone, with governments unwilling to really address inequitable access to the vaccines, tests and treatment. There have been wonderful speeches, warm words, but not the actions needed to ensure fair access to what we know works and would bring the pandemic to a close.”[47]

Other activities

Corporate boards

Non-profit organizations

Awards and honours

Farrar is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to healthcare, especially the prevention of tropical diseases, in Vietnam. His citation on election to the Academy of Medical Sciences reads:[68]

Farrar was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2015.[69] He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to Global Health.

Personal life

Farrar has been married to Christiane Dolecek, an Austrian-born typhoid researcher, since 1998.[22] They have three children and live in Oxford.[22] Since 2011, the family [70] has focused on providing educational assistance to youth from Vietnam and Nepal.[71]

References

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jeremy Farrar – Epidemiologist. BBC.
  2. Web site: World Health Organization names Sir Jeremy Farrar as Chief Scientist, Dr Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu as Chief Nursing Officer. who.int. Anon. 2022.
  3. 10.1038/nm0214-112. 24504397. Straight talk with...Jeremy Farrar. Nature Medicine. 20. 2. 112. 2014. Farrar. J. Cressey. D. 205376332. free.
  4. Van Noorden . Richard. Clinician to head Wellcome Trust: Jeremy Farrar to lead one of world's largest research charities. . 10.1038/497019a . Nature . 497 . 7447 . 19 . 2013 . 23636375. free . 2013Natur.497...19V .
  5. Maxmen . A. . Jeremy Farrar: When disaster strikes . 10.1084/jem.2061pi . Journal of Experimental Medicine . 206 . 1 . 4–5 . 2009 . 19153250. 2626674 .
  6. https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2013/apr/25/science-policy A very Wellcome appointment: Professor Jeremy Farrar, who takes over as director of the Wellcome Trust in October 2013
  7. James Ashton (18 January 2015), Jeremy Farrar interview: Wellcome Trust director says 'I'm not a great believer in the power of prayer' The Independent.
  8. News: Covid scientist Jeremy Farrar had recurring nightmare about failing A-levels. The Guardian . Nosheen. Iqbal . 6 December 2020 .
  9. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0496c03 Jeremy Farrar Interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili
  10. Web site: Jeremy Farrar. antimicrobe.org.
  11. DPhil . Jeremy. Farrar . Analysis of combinatorial immunoglobin libraries from a myasthenia gravis patient . University of Oxford . 1997 . . Jeremy Farrar.
  12. Thwaites . G. E. . Nguyen . N. D. . Nguyen . N. H. . Hoang . H. T. . Do . D. T. T. . Nguyen . N. T. C. . Nguyen . N. Q. . Nguyen . N. T. . Nguyen . N. N. . Nguyen . 10.1056/NEJMoa040573 . N. T. N. . Nguyen . N. N. . Nguyen . N. H. . Vu . V. N. . Cao . C. H. . Tran . T. T. H. . Pham . P. P. . Nguyen . N. T. . Stepniewska . K. . White . N. J. . Tran . T. T. . Farrar . J. J. . Dexamethasone for the Treatment of Tuberculous Meningitis in Adolescents and Adults . New England Journal of Medicine . 351 . 17 . 1741–1751 . 2004 . 15496623. free .
  13. 10.1186/1471-2334-10-142. 20509940. Comparison of two dengue NS1 rapid tests for sensitivity, specificity and relationship to viraemia and antibody responses. BMC Infectious Diseases. 10. 142. 2010. Tricou . V. . Vu . H. T. . Quynh . N. V. . Nguyen . C. V. . Tran . H. T. . Farrar . J. . Wills . B. . Simmons . C. P. . 2895602. free.
  14. Guzman . M. G. . Halstead . S. B. . Artsob . H. . Buchy . P. . Farrar . J. . Gubler . D. J. . Hunsperger . E. . Kroeger . A. . Margolis . H. S. . 10.1038/nrmicro2460 . Martínez . E. . Nathan . M. B. . Pelegrino . J. L. . Simmons . C. . Yoksan . S. . Peeling . R. W. . Dengue: A continuing global threat . Nature Reviews Microbiology . 8 . 12 . S7–16 . 2010 . 21079655 . 4333201.
  15. 10.1056/NEJMoa044057. 16135832. Comparison of Three Fluid Solutions for Resuscitation in Dengue Shock Syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine. 353. 9. 877–89. 2005. Wills . B. A. . Dung . N. M. . Loan . H. T. . Tam . D. T. H. . Thuy . T. T. N. . Minh . L. T. T. . Diet . T. V. . Hao . N. T. . Chau . N. V. . Stepniewska . K. . White . N. J. . Farrar . J. J. . 30791461. free .
  16. Solomon . T. . Dung . N. M. . Vaughn . D. W. . Kneen . R. . Thao . L. T. T. . Raengsakulrach . B. . Loan . H. T. . Day . N. P. . Farrar . J. . Myint . 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02036-5 . K. S. . Warrell . M. J. . James . W. S. . Nisalak . A. . White . N. J. . Neurological manifestations of dengue infection . The Lancet . 355 . 9209 . 1053–1059 . 2000 . 10744091 . 21731410 .
  17. 10.1038/509555a. 24877180. Policy: An intergovernmental panel on antimicrobial resistance. Nature. 509. 7502. 555–7. 2014. Woolhouse . Mark. Farrar . Jeremy. Jeremy Farrar. free.
  18. Farrar . J. . Jeremy Farrar. H5N1 surveillance: Shift expertise to where it matters . 10.1038/483534a . Nature . 483 . 7391 . 534–535 . 2012 . 22460881. 7095293 . 2012Natur.483..534F . free .
  19. Hien . T. T. . Nguyen . N. T. . Nguyen . N. T. . Luong . L. T. . Pham . P. P. . Nguyen . N. V. V. . Pham . P. T. . Vo . V. C. . Le . L. T. Q. . Ngo . 10.1056/NEJMoa040419 . N. T. . Dao . D. B. . Le . L. P. . Nguyen . N. T. . Hoang . H. T. . Cao . C. V. . Le . L. T. . Nguyen . N. D. . Le . L. H. . Nguyen . N. T. K. . Le . L. H. . Le . L. V. . Christiane . C. . Tran . T. T. . Menno De . M. . Schultsz . C. . Cheng . P. . Lim . W. . Horby . P. . Farrar . J. . World Health Organization International Avian Influenza Investigative Team . Avian Influenza A (H5N1) in 10 Patients in Vietnam . New England Journal of Medicine . 350 . 12 . 1179–1188 . 2004 . 14985470 . free .
  20. De Jong . M. D. . Simmons . C. P. . Thanh . T. T. . Hien . V. M. . Smith . G. J. D. . Chau . T. N. B. . Hoang . D. M. . Chau . N. . Khanh . T. H. . Dong . 10.1038/nm1477 . V. C. . Qui . P. T. . Cam . B. . Ha Do . D. Q. . Guan . Y. . Peiris . J. S. M. . Chinh . N. T. . Hien . T. T. . Farrar . J. . Fatal outcome of human influenza A (H5N1) is associated with high viral load and hypercytokinemia . Nature Medicine . 12 . 10 . 1203–1207 . 2006 . 16964257 . 4333202.
  21. 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62047-4. Jeremy Farrar: Wellcome arrival from southeast Asia. The Lancet. 382. 9899. 1167. 2013. Watts. Geoff. 24095187. 205970840.
  22. Annie Maccoby Berglof (20 June 2014), At Home with the FT House & Home: Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar Financial Times.
  23. https://www.cgdev.org/working-group/priority-setting-institutions-global-health Working Group on Priority-Setting Institutions for Global Health
  24. 10.1038/515192a. Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission. 2014. Whitty. Christopher J. M.. Chris Whitty. Farrar. Jeremy. Jeremy Farrar. Ferguson. Neil. Neil Ferguson (epidemiologist). Edmunds. W. John. Piot. Peter. Leach. Melissa. Davies. Sally C.. Nature. 515. 7526. 192–194. 25391946. 2014Natur.515..192W. free.
  25. Web site: Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission Ebola Response Anthropology Platform. www.ebola-anthropology.net. 10 March 2020.
  26. Jon Cohen. 2 September 2016. New vaccine coalition aims to ward off epidemics. Science. 353. 6303.
  27. Establishing a Global Vaccine-Development Fund . . 23 July 2015 . Stanley A. Plotkin . Adel A.F. Mahmoud . Jeremy Farrar . 10.1056/NEJMp1506820 . 26200974. 297–300 . 373. 4. free .
  28. 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30164-7. Use of serological surveys to generate key insights into the changing global landscape of infectious disease. 2016. Metcalf. C Jessica E.. Farrar. Jeremy. Jeremy Farrar. Cutts. Felicity T.. Basta. Nicole E.. Graham. Andrea L.. Andrea L. Graham. Lessler. Justin. Ferguson. Neil M.. Neil Ferguson (epidemiologist). Burke. Donald S.. Donald Burke. Grenfell. Bryan T.. Bryan Grenfell. The Lancet. 388. 10045. 728–730. 27059886. 5678936.
  29. https://www.pasteur.fr/en/research-journal/news/launch-recruitment-process-director-institut-pasteur Launch of the recruitment process for the Director of the Institut Pasteur
  30. https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/english-version/press/2018/international-advisory-board.html Four new members complete the International Advisory Board on Global Health
  31. http://buildatbfreeworld.org/about-us/commissioners Commissioners
  32. https://www.a-star.edu.sg/About-A-STAR/biomedical-research-council/health-and-biomedical-sciences-international-advisory-council Health and Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council (HBMS IAC)
  33. https://www.who.int/groups/one-health-global-leaders-group-on-antimicrobial-resistance Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance
  34. https://global-health-summit.europa.eu/panel-scientific-experts_en Global Health Summit: Panel of Scientific Experts
  35. https://web.archive.org/web/20150525022955/http://www.who.int/immunization/policy/sage/sage_wg_dengue_mar2015/en/ SAGE Working Group on Dengue Vaccines and Vaccination (March 2015 to August 2016)
  36. Julie Steenhuysen and Ben Hirschler (13 December 2017), Did Sanofi, WHO ignore warning signals on dengue vaccine? Reuters.
  37. https://www.who.int/blueprint/about/sag-members/en/ R&D Blueprint Scientific Advisory Group members
  38. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/05/24/who-and-world-bank-group-join-forces-to-strengthen-global-health-security WHO and World Bank Group Join Forces to Strengthen Global Health Security
  39. https://www.gpmb.org/news/news/item/30-09-2022-global-preparedness-monitoring-board-announces-new-board-membership-bringing-diverse-expertise-to-independent-monitoring Global Preparedness Monitoring Board Announces New Board Membership, Bringing Diverse Expertise to Independent Monitoring
  40. Donald G. McNeil Jr. (12 August 2019), A Cure for Ebola? Two New Treatments Prove Highly Effective in Congo The New York Times.
  41. Sarah Boseley (August 12, 2019), Ebola now curable after trials of drugs in DRC, say scientists The Guardian.
  42. Mark Landler and Stephen Castle (April 23, 2020), The Secretive Group Guiding the U.K. on Coronavirus New York Times.
  43. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response-membership/list-of-participants-of-sage-and-related-sub-groups List of participants of SAGE and related sub-groups, 7 May 2020
  44. Web site: Campbell . Denis . Matt Hancock plotted to oust NHS England chief, WhatsApp leak shows . the Guardian . 5 March 2023 . 5 March 2023.
  45. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-and-manufacturing-boost-for-uk-vaccine-programme Funding and manufacturing boost for UK vaccine programme
  46. Web site: Book review: Spike - The Virus vs the People, by Sir Jeremy Farrar and Anjana Ahuja The Scotsman.
  47. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/04/uks-progress-on-covid-now-squandered-warns-top-scientist UK’s progress on Covid now squandered, warns top scientist
  48. https://www.temasekreview.com.sg/steward/sharing-perspectives.html Temasek Review 2019: Temasek International Panel
  49. https://nam.edu/programs/climate-change-and-human-health/climate-change-advisory-committee/ Climate & Health Initiative Planning Committee
  50. https://gesda.global/who-we-are/ Who we are
  51. https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news/view/appointments-and-changes-genome-research-limited-board Appointments and changes to the Genome Research Limited Board
  52. https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/news/detail/221/en GHIT Fund Announces New Council Member Jeremy Farrar
  53. News: Davos launch for coalition to prevent epidemics of emerging viruses . . Clive Cookson . 18 January 2017 . 6 March 2020 . Billion-dollar programme aims to cut vaccine-development time from 12 years to one.
  54. http://www.globalhealth2030.org/cochairs About Us
  55. https://www.ga4gh.org/aboutus/strategic-advisory-board/ Strategic Advisory Board
  56. https://www.aku.edu/about/trustees/Pages/home.aspx Board of Trustess
  57. https://www.forward.institute/advisors-senior-sponsors Advisory Board & Senior Sponsors
  58. https://www.glopid-r.org/governance/ Governance
  59. https://www.crick.ac.uk/about-us/leadership-structure/board/jeremy-farrar Jeremy Farrar
  60. https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/funding-2/office-for-strategic-coordination-of-health-research-oschr/ Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR)
  61. https://www.nejm.org/about-nejm/editors-and-publishers Editors and Publishers
  62. https://www.pahs.edu.np/pahs-community/international-advisory-board/ International Advisory Board
  63. https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/about-us/our-governance/ Strategic Coherence of ODA-funded Research
  64. https://vsph.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/gywm/International_Advisory_Board.htm Vanke School of Public Health: International Advisory Board
  65. https://www.whocc.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk/directory#10 Advisory Board
  66. https://www.womenlifthealth.org/global-advisory-board Global Advisory Board
  67. Web site: Global Leaders Group for antimicrobial resistance- Members. 2022-01-17. www.amrleaders.org. en. 15 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211215152020/https://www.amrleaders.org/general/members. dead.
  68. Web site: Dr Jeremy Farrar OBE FMedSci . Academy of Medical Sciences . 22 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151222114251/http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/professor-jeremy-farrar/ . London . dead .
  69. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20151117101151/https://royalsociety.org/people/jeremy-farrar-11423/. 17 November 2015. Professor Jeremy Farrar OBE FMedSci FRS. Royal Society. London.
  70. Web site: Farrar Foundation. farrarfoundation.org.
  71. Katrin Elger and Veronika Hackenbroch (8 December 2014), Epidemics Expert Jeremy Farrar: 'The Most Dangerous Emerging Disease Is Drug Resistance' Der Spiegel.

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