Professor Marion Bain has been appointed as an additional interim Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Scotland.
She will serve alongside Dr Nicola Steedman, whose appointment was announced in April.
The Scottish Government said both roles will "provide extra resilience and support during the coronavirus pandemic."
It follows the appointment of Dr Gregor Smith as the interim Chief Medical Officer.
Professor Bain is the Scottish Government’s former Senior Medical Advisor for Public Health Reform. Most recently, she has been working as the Director of Infection Prevention and Control at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman said: “Professor Bain brings a wealth of experience from a wide range of senior medical leadership roles. Her knowledge and skills in public health, and her research expertise will be particularly insightful and valuable.
"I look forward to working with her and I’m confident that, as interim Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Bain will make a significant contribution in our ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic."
After qualifying as a doctor from Edinburgh University, Professor Bain worked across a range of clinical areas and hospitals in Scotland before specialising in public health medicine. Her career developed increasingly over time into clinical leadership and management.
Over the last 15 years she has held a number of senior medical leadership roles at strategic and national levels in Scotland as: Medical Director of Information Services Division of NHS Scotland (2003-2009), Executive Medical Director of NHS National Services Scotland (2009-2017), Co-Director of the Executive Delivery Group and Senior Medical Advisor for Public Health Reform in Scottish Government (2017-2019).
She was the elected Chair of the Scottish Association of Medical Directors from 2014-2017. Most recently, she has been working as the Director of Infection Prevention and Control in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
She is an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh, with particular research expertise around the use of routine health information for public health and clinical research.
