Wednesday 3 August 2022 02:09 PM Sir Patrick Vallance will step down as No10's chief scientific adviser in the ... trends now

Wednesday 3 August 2022 02:09 PM Sir Patrick Vallance will step down as No10's chief scientific adviser in the ... trends now
Wednesday 3 August 2022 02:09 PM Sir Patrick Vallance will step down as No10's chief scientific adviser in the ... trends now

Wednesday 3 August 2022 02:09 PM Sir Patrick Vallance will step down as No10's chief scientific adviser in the ... trends now

Sir Patrick Vallance will stand down as the Government's chief scientific adviser, it was announced today.

He became a household name during Covid, appearing next to Boris Johnson and his esteemed colleague Sir Chris Whitty during tense Downing Street briefings to talk the nation through the crisis.

But the 62-year-old was also nicknamed 'Dr Doom' during the pandemic for being the face of SAGE's bleak projections.

Sir Patrick will resign from his job, which pays up to £185,000-a-year, in April.

He will then take up the role of chairman of the Natural History Museum's Board of Trustees.

Sir Patrick Vallance became a household name during Covid, appearing next to Boris Johnson and his esteemed colleague Sir Chris Whitty during tense Downing Street briefings to talk the nation through the crisis

Sir Patrick Vallance became a household name during Covid, appearing next to Boris Johnson and his esteemed colleague Sir Chris Whitty during tense Downing Street briefings to talk the nation through the crisis

But the 62-year-old was also nicknamed 'Dr Doom' during the pandemic for being the face of SAGE's bleak projections. Pictured alongside the PM and Sir Chris at a Government press briefing on February 21

But the 62-year-old was also nicknamed 'Dr Doom' during the pandemic for being the face of SAGE's bleak projections. Pictured alongside the PM and Sir Chris at a Government press briefing on February 21

Sir Patrick, who as a child dreamed of being a scientist who studied prehistoric life, will soon take on the role of chairman of the Natural History Museum's (pictured) Board of Trustees

Sir Patrick, who as a child dreamed of being a scientist who studied prehistoric life, will soon take on the role of chairman of the Natural History Museum's (pictured) Board of Trustees

From wanting to be a palaeontologist to steering the nation through Covid: The rise of Sir Patrick Vallance

Born in Essex in the 1960s, Sir Patrick Vallance dreamed as a child of being a 'dinosaur hunter'.

But ambitions of becoming a highly-renowned palaeontologist were soon abandoned in favour of a career in medicine.

He was educated at Truro school in Cornwall, which costs nearly £30,000 to board now.

Before becoming a household name for steering the nation through Covid, he spent time teaching at St George's, University of London, where the now 62-year-old graduated in the 1980s.

He later became a specialist in the area of both diseases of blood vessels and endothelial biology. 

Sir Patrick, who describes his 'guiltiest pleasure' as driving fast cars, also spent a decade teaching at University College London. 

He joined British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in 2006 and worked there until 2017.

After six years at GSK his base salary as Executive Director was said to be £780,000 a year.

When he left to become No10's chief scientific advisor in 2018, he cashed in £5million worth of shares he got from them from his time working there until March 2018.

During the pandemic, it transpired that Sir Patrick Vallance still had £600,000 of shares. It sparked controversy because GSK was one of many firms racing to develop a Covid vaccine.

Married to former GP Sophie Dexter, the couple live in a semi-detached Victorian house worth £1.8m, which they bought in 2018 with cash.

The street they live on is lined with expensive cars, with an R-class Mercedes once spotted parked on their own drive.

They had to complete extensive renovations after it had been left completely gutted by a fire before they were involved in the property.

The pair have three children together — who all think their father, knighted originally in 2019, is 'geeky'.

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Boris Johnson said: 'Sir Patrick may not have bargained for becoming a household name when he signed up for the job.

'But I am immensely grateful for his advice and expertise throughout the pandemic and beyond.'

The outgoing PM added: 'It is

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