Chair appointed for UK Pandemic Influenza Advisory Group

As part of the UK's pandemic influenza preparation, the Department of Health established a Scientific Advisory Group on Pandemic Influenza (SAG), which advises on the scientific evidence base for health-related pandemic influenza policies. As part of a process to ensure that SAG is more flexible and independent, Professor Sir Gordon Duff has been appointed as an external chair of the group.

Professor Gordon Duff, aged 59, is currently a Florey Professor of Molecular Medicine at Sheffield University, the chair of the Commission on Human Medicines and the chair of the National Biological Standards Board. He is also a member of the adjudicating panel for Prix Galien and a chairman/member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Dublin Centre for Molecular Medicine.

Recruitment of an independent chair is part of the revision that the SAG is currently undergoing. Further changes are that the membership is being extended to include a wider range of scientific disciplines. The scientific disciplines represented within the revised SAG will include, but not be limited to, traditional infectious diseases-related sciences such as virology and immunology, as well as sciences such as risk management, behavioural sciences and diagnostics. The diversity of scientific disciplines is a result of the far-reaching implications of an influenza pandemic as well as the cross-government nature of this advisory group.

The SAG will continue to include its current sub-group on systematic modelling of the impact of a pandemic and the effect of interventions. This group brings together internationally respected experts in the area who represent different modelling approaches to maximise confidence in the results.

Besides providing advice on specific questions, the revised SAG will act as an information network for the government to ensure that it is informed of important developments in pandemic influenza related sciences, which could affect government policy.

The appointment is for three years and this post is not remunerated.

More information about SAG.

•Date: 8th January 2008• Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning
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