Head of UK’s overarching research body to step down

The chief executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the umbrella organisation that oversees the country’s seven research councils – will retire from the post in 2020. Mark Walport, an immunologist by training, was appointed to the post in 2017 and guided the successful transition from the country’s previous research funding structures to UKRI in April 2018. Beyond establishing a single operational organisation, he also helped to secure a significant increase in public funding for research.