We are delighted to announce that Prof. Sir Jonathan Van-Tam has agreed to serve as the Honorary Chair of the Vietnamese Intellectual Society in the UK and Ireland (VIS UK & Ireland). Prof. Sir Van-Tam has been a prominent figure in the UK government in his role of Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) for England since 2017, overseeing a number of events including the domestic outbreaks of MERS and monkeypox, 2017 to 2018 influenza season and most notably the response to the novichok attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic where he worked on the Vaccine Taskforce and supported the development of treatments. His work has been recently recognised by the knighthood in the Queen’s New Year 2022 Honour list. Prof. Sir Van-Tam will return to the academic environment in his new role of Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Nottingham from March 2022.
“Prof. Van-Tam’s support will be a huge boost to allow VIS to achieve its vision which is to foster connection and collaboration among members and to contribute to the relationship growth between the UK and Vietnam in science, technology and economy. We are looking forward to working with Prof Van-Tam and receiving his advice to grow the Society even stronger,” said Prof. Huan Nguyen, the current Executive Chair of the Society.
In order to mark the occasion, Prof. Sir. Van-Tam will be delivering an inaugural lecture to VIS members and its supporters worldwide. We will announce the lecture details soon.
The Society would like to thank Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long, the Embassy of Vietnam in London, for facilitating our meeting with Prof. Sir. Van-Tam.
Dr. An Tran (NPL)