WHO Chief Scientist to give keynote at UCL-Lancet Lecture

UCL and world leading medical journal The Lancet will welcome Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), to give the keynote speech at this year's UCL-Lancet Lecture. Introduced by UCL's President & Provost Dr Michael Spence, "Lessons from the Pandemic for Science and Public Health" will explore some of the key learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic and present insights on the international response to the pandemic. Held on Wednesday 9^th June, the public lecture will also act as an opportunity to discuss the role of science in global decision making. A Q&A session chaired by The Lancet 's Editor-in-Chief Dr Richard Horton will follow the keynote lecture from Dr Swaminathan; panellists include UCL Institute for Global Health (IGH) Director and soon to be Dean of the Faculty of Population Health, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar, as well as Professor Alison Rodger, also from UCL IGH. The UCL- Lancet Lecture 2021 comes as the world continues to grapple with Coronavirus and its impacts; whilst the UK's lockdown restrictions ease and life begins to return to normality across the country, the picture for many around the world is still one of tough restrictions and challenging dilemmas. As well as being a chance to hear from decision makers at the heart of the global public health crisis, this lecture will also provide global audiences with the opportunity to participate in the debate by submitting questions and comments. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, UCL's vast community of academics has come together to provide advice and expertise to help tackle the virus and its impacts.