Sir Jeremy Farrar OBE FMedSci FRS is the Director of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges. Jeremy’s whole career has been dedicated to protecting and improving global health.

Before joining Wellcome in October 2013, Jeremy was Director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam for 18 years. His research interests were infectious diseases and global health, with a focus on emerging infections. He has published more than 600 articles, mentored many dozens of students and fellows, and served as Chair on several advisory boards for governments and global organisations.

In 2018 he was awarded the President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian of the Year Award. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences UK, the National Academies USA, the European Molecular Biology Organisation and a Fellow of The Royal Society.

Jeremy was knighted in the Queen’s 2019 New Year Honours for services to global health. He serves as a member of the Government’s Sage advisory committee. In 2020, he was quoted as saying “This infection is not going away, it's now a human endemic infection”, adding "Even, actually, if we have a vaccine or very good treatments, humanity will still be living with this virus for very many, many years.... decades to come."