Last week, leading epidemiologist Dr. Jeremy Farrar, accepted the position as the new Director of the Wellcome Trust. He will begin his appointment on October 1, 2013. The Wellcome Trust “is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It does this by supporting the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities, with charitable spending of around £650 million a year.”

Sir William Castell, Chairman of the Wellcome Trust, said: “The Board of Governors is delighted that Jeremy Farrar has accepted our invitation to become the next Director of the Wellcome Trust. Jeremy is one of the foremost scientists of his generation, whose work – much of it funded by the Trust – has contributed to better understanding, surveillance, prevention and treatment of diseases including emerging infections, influenza, tuberculosis, typhoid and dengue.”

Dr. Farrar has contributed to over 450 peer-reviewed texts and is the lead editor of Manson’s Tropical Diseases, 23rd Edition, which will be available in November 2013. He has served as Director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam and is a world-renowned expert of the influenza virus as well as other infectious diseases.

Among Dr. Farrar’s many prestigious awards are: the Ho Chi Minh City Medal from the Government of Vietnam, the Oon International Award for his work on H5N1 avian flu, Frederick Murgatroyd Prize for Tropical Medicine by the Royal College Physicians and the Bailey Ashford Award by the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

To learn more about Dr. Jeremy Farrar and his appointment to the Wellcome Trust, read the full press release. Check out some more of Elsevier’s leading infectious disease experts!