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About us

Aims

The Trust’s aim is ‘advancing by investigation, research or otherwise in any way knowledge with regards to the causes of cancer and if possible of curing or alleviating cancer into the understanding of all aspects of cancer care and cure’. This wide remit has enabled the Trust to pursue various approaches in meeting its charitable objectives in the past.

Currently, the Trust has identified that effective investment in research institutions in South East Scotland is best delivered through PhD studentships and undergraduate vacation research scholarships. The Trust is open to effective collaboration with individuals or other charitable organisations to support research for all forms of cancer.

For example, this might involve matched funding from the Trust for a named research scholarship or studentship, applications for which would be assessed by the Scientific Advisory Committee with regular annual reporting of satisfactory research progress required.

History

The Trust was established in 1922 by George Fisher Melville, an advocate who lived at 12 Moray Place, Edinburgh. The Trust was managed initially by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, the Deputy Keeper of the Signet and by a representative of the Merchant Company.

The original Act provided power to the Trustees to appoint an additional six trustees but in 1952 an amendment enabled the University of Edinburgh, The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to each nominate one person to be appointed as trustees, each of whom is appointed for a 5 year period of renewable office.

The Melville Trust is a registered charity with OSCR, Charity Number SC010302. 

Please click HERE for details of the charity’s operations and annual information submission history.

Governance and Administration

All applications for scholarships and studentships are reviewed, scored and ranked by a Scientific Advisory Committee which comprises of representatives from the Royal College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Physicians and the University of Edinburgh. Their opinions on the applications are passed to the trustees for their consideration and final decision.

Trustees

O James Garden

James Garden CBE is former Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery, Professor Emeritus, Director of Edinburgh Surgery Online, and Dean International at the University of Edinburgh.

Tony Lenehan

Tony Lenehan KC is an experienced specialist counsel and is current Vice Dean of the Faculty of Advocates and President of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association.

Lesley Dawson

Lesley Dawson MB is Consultant Medical Oncologist and Associate Director of Medical education at the Western General Hospital and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

Don Young

Don Young is Lord Dean of Guild of Edinburgh and The Old Master of the The Royal Company of Merchants, an organisation which represents more than 43 professions, that with its earlier Guild origins, has enriched the life of Edinburgh for more than 750 years.

Marie Fallon

Marie Fallon MD is the St Columba’s Hospice Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and Honorary Consultant in Palliative Care at the Western General Hospital. She leads the Edinburgh Palliative and Supportive Care Group at the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre within the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine. She has published extensively in her field and is a member of the Advisory Board for Dimbleby Cancer Care. She is a Collaborating Centre Lead for the European palliative Cancer Research Centre with which organisation she is a Visiting Professor.

Mandy Laurie

Mandy Laurie WS is Deputy Keeper of the Signet and a Partner and Head of the Employment Team at Burness Paul LLP.

She is only the second woman to hold the position of Deputy Keeper and is a Signet Accredited Employment Lawyer.

She has been a practising solicitor for over 20 years and has considerable expertise and experience on employment issues. She has considerable charity experience, having served as a Board Member of Move On while currently a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Thistle Foundation.

Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)

Chair of the SAC – Professor Stephen J Wigmore

Professor Wigmore is the Regius Chair of Clinical Surgery at the University of Edinburgh, Surgeon to the Queen in Scotland, and is Chair of the RCSEd Research Committee.

Representatives of the University of Edinburgh

Dr Luke Boulter
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Dr Kevin Myant
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Representatives of the Royal College of Physicians

Dr Caroline Michie
Dr Michie is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and an NRS research fellow (2018-2021 cohort).
Dr Lesley Dawson
Dr Lesley Dawson is Consultant Medical Oncologist and Associate Director of Medical education at the Western General Hospital and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

Representatives of the Royal College of Surgeons

Dr Farhat V N Din
Dr Farhat Din is a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist and Honorary Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at the Colorectal Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh.
Dr Richard Skipworth
Dr Skipworth is a Consultant General and Upper GI Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, and an NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Clinician.
Professor Stephen J Wigmore
Professor Wigmore is the Regius Chair of Clinical Surgery at the University of Edinburgh, Surgeon to the Queen in Scotland.