Dr Soumya Swaminathan was appointed World Health Organization (WHO)’s first Chief Scientist in March 2019. Her vision is to ensure that WHO is at the cutting edge of science and is able to translate new knowledge into meaningful impact on population health worldwide. Swaminathan and her 30 years of experience in clinical care and research have worked throughout her career to translate research into impactful programmes. She was Secretary to the Government of India for Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research from 2015 to 2017. In that position, Swaminathan focused on bringing science and evidence into health policy making, building research capacity in Indian medical schools and forging south-south partnerships in health sciences. From 2009 to 2011, she also served as Coordinator of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Geneva.