Dame Kay Davies to become Deputy Chairman of the Wellcome Trust

Dame Kay will take over as Deputy Chairman when Professor Peter Rigby, former Chief Executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, completes his three-year term. He has been reappointed to serve as a Governor of the Trust until 2016.

Professor Richard Hynes, of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has also been reappointed as a Governor for a further three years.

Sir William Castell, Chairman of the Wellcome Trust, said: "Dame Kay is an outstanding scientist with an exceptional understanding not only of basic biomedical research, but also the translation of its insights into new therapies and diagnostics. With her great experience of the Wellcome Trust's extraordinary vision and mission, she is ideally placed to support our new director, Professor Jeremy Farrar, who starts in October.

"I am extremely grateful to Peter Rigby for the important role he has played in developing the Trust's funding portfolio during his term as Deputy Chairman, and I am delighted that both he and Richard Hynes have agreed to serve further terms as Governors."

Dame Kay said: "I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the work of the Wellcome Trust in my new role as Deputy Chairman at such an exciting time both for science and for its application to improve human and animal health. There are many challenges ahead, and I very much look forward to working with my fellow governors and the new Director, Jeremy Farrar."