According to a news report in today's Nature, Leszek Borysiewicz, a vaccinologist and deputy rector at Imperial College London, has been selected to become the chief executive of the UK Medical Research Council. Colin Blakemore, who has held the post since 2003, plans to step down at the end of this month. The changeover comes amidst a period of turbulence at the agency, marked most recently in July by doubts expressed by the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology about the ability of John Chisholm, MRC chairman, to guide the agency.

The MRC press office declined to confirm Borysiewicz's appointment - a spokesman told The Scientist that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Research is heading the search. A member of that department could not be reached for comment.