Professor Jonathan Van-Tam

Jonathan Van-Tam is an epidemiologist and acts as an independent advisor to the Government as one of England’s two Deputy Chief Medical Officers.

After graduating in medicine from the University of Nottingham in 1987, Jonathan spent five years practising hospital-based clinical medicine before becoming senior lecturer at the University of Nottingham and regional epidemiologist for the Public Health Laboratory Service in 1997. Then, after four years in the pharmaceutical industry he was appointed Consultant Epidemiologist and Head of the Pandemic Influenza Office at the UK Health Protection Agency in 2004.

Jonathan was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in October 2017 and currently leads on health protection. He is Consultant to the World Health Organisation on influenza, sits on the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and is Chair of the UK New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (NERVTAG).

Jonathan has published over 100 scientific papers, written four textbooks and is co-editor of the textbook Introduction to Pandemic Influenza. He was editor-in-chief of the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses from 2014 to 2017. He was awarded an MBE in 1998.

Jonathan is married with three children and is a season ticket holder at Boston United.