Statistician with a hint of spy may be perfect fit for new role
AS A senior spy with a background in epidemiology and medical statistics, Dr Clare Gardiner is seen by many in Whitehall as the perfect person to run the UK’S Joint Biosecurity Centre.
On secondment from GCHQ, where she is director of cyber resilience and strategy at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Dr Gardiner is now charged with monitoring the spread of coronavirus. As the centre’s directorgeneral, Dr Gardiner’s role includes advising ministers on the Covid-19 alert level, a system that closely mirrors the one used to determine the levels of terror threat posed to the UK.
The centre also collects data on Covid-19 testing from around the UK, with ministers receiving daily updates on the latest figures and on any regional spikes in infection rates that might suggest that a localised outbreak is occurring.
At the NCSC, Dr Gardiner’s role involves advising businesses and public bodies on how to bolster their cyber security defences. She has held a number of roles close to government, including as a cyber expert at the British Embassy in Washington.
The appointment is understood to have come at the behest of Simon Case, the Downing Street permanent secretary who previously worked at
GCHQ. Speaking after her appointment in early June, Government insiders said that cyber expertise was vital for ensuring that the centre delivered on its central function of real-time data analysis, which was crucial for identifying and containing outbreaks before they run out of control.
It is understood that a small team of experts from GCHQ have also been drafted in to help develop the operation.
Dr Gardiner’s appointment was also welcomed at the time by some of the UK’S leading scientists who pointed to her highly cited research on medical statistics.
They include Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, a leading British statistician and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, who said: “Dr Clare Gardiner is a statistician who understands the challenges of using data to monitor outbreaks.
“As Clare Marshall, she was the lead author on a much-cited 2005 paper, “Statistical issues in the prospective monitoring of health outcomes across multiple units”, which seems extremely relevant to the current situation.”