The MRC, The Gambia Unit, will be visited for the very first time by Professor Jim Smith, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Strategy of the Medical Research Council UK from Saturday 14 November to Friday 20 November 2015. Professor Jim Smith took up the position 1 April 2014.
Professor Smith obtained his first degree from the University of Cambridge. He completed his PhD with Lewis Wolpert at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School. After two years at Harvard Medical School, studying growth factors and the cell cycle, he returned to the UK to work with Jonathan Slack at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to focus on early amphibian development.

His role involves developing and communicating our research strategy and its impact, managing the overall approach to planning and evaluation across the MRC as well as directing international policy on global health.

Professor Jim Smith will spend 5 days at The Unit. During his stay, there will be presentations from the Leadership Board and Principal Investigators including a tour of our facilities. He will spend one night in Keneba, with a field trip to the surrounding community.

Find out more about Professor Smith on the MRC UK website: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/about/chief-executive-management-board/#ceo