Improving the Health of the Nation

Medical Research Scotland aims to support medical research of the highest quality in Scotland. Its scope is unrestricted and will therefore support research into any disease. It awards grants for scientific research aimed at understanding the mechanisms and causes of all or any diseases and improving methods of their detection, prevention and treatment.

Medical Research Scotland supports research in each of the academic centres in Scotland. The links in the navigation panel on the left will take you to pages which list the people and projects in each of these centres which have recently received support. All current grantholders are listed below. The Archive pages in the News & Publications section provide information about previously-supported research.

Current Award Holders

Dr Gareth B. Miles (School of Biology, University of St Andrews) for a three-year project to test the 'synaptic stripping' hypothesis for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), by an investigation of cholinergic synapses on motoneurones in ALS.
Dr Ada Delaney (Centre for Neuroscience Research, Royal [Dick] School of Veterinary Studies) and colleagues, Professor Susan M. Fleetwood-Walker (Centre for Neuroscience Research, Royal [Dick] School of Veterinary Studies), Dr Rory Mitchell (Centre for Integrative Physiology) Dr Lesley Colvin (Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Medicine, Western General Hospital) and Professor Marie Fallon (CRUK Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, Western General Hospital), all of the University of Edinburgh, for a two-year investigation aimed at gaining new insights into evidence-based pain management for cancer-induced bone pain.
Dr Andrew C. Stanfield and colleagues Professors Eve Johnstone & Stephen M. Lawrie (all of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh) and Professor Peter M. McKenna (Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow), over 30 months for aclinical, neuropsychological and MRI study comparing autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Dr James W. Dear, Clinical Pharmacology Unit, University of Edinburgh and colleagues Professor David Webb (Centre for Cardiovascular Science), Professor D. Nicholas Batemen (Scottish Poisons Information Bureau, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary), Dr Ian Marshall (Medical Physics Department, University of Edinburgh) & Dr Kenneth J. Simpson (Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh) for an 18-month project for the characterisation of paracetamol-induced acute renal failure, using dendrimer-contrast magnetic resonance imaging.
Drs Mary Donaldson & Iain Morgan (Department of Pathological Sciences, University of Glasgow Veterinary School), over three years to investigate the potential of TopBP1 to be a therapeutic target for human papillomavirus infection.
Dr Shauna E. Culshaw, Centre for Biophotonics, University of Strathclyde and colleagues Professor Paul Garside, Dr John Girkin, Professor Gail McConnell & Dr James Brewer (all of the Centre for Biophotonics, University of Strathclyde), for a two-year project aimed at improving understanding of the basic mechanisms of the adaptive immune response to cariogenic bacteria in the oral cavity.
Dr Omar Albagha, Bone Research Group & Professor Stuart Ralston, Rheumatic Disease Unit, Molecular Medicine Centre, University of Edinburgh, for a two-year project on the identification of susceptibility gene(s) for osteoporosis in men on chromosome 10q21.
Dr Sharon Mitchell & Professor John Speakman, Department of Integrative Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, for an 18-month project to investigate early onset of leptin insensitivity in response to high-fat diet.
Dr Anna Sutherland, Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow, holds the 2007-09 Medical Research Scotland/Mrs Mary Tyson Research Fellowship for her project entitled: "Perceived interpersonal threat as a unifying psychological model in Cluster B personality disorder".
Dr Trevor John Bushell, Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Strathclyde, for a two-year project to determine the role of proteinase-activated receptor 2 upregulation in CNS neurones.
Dr Jenni Harvey, Neurosciences Institute, University of Dundee, for a two-year investigation into whether age-related decline in cognitive function is assocated with altered neuronal responsiveness to leptin.
Dr Christopher Michael Loughrey, Department of Cell Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine & Professor Godfrey Smith, Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, for a two-year investigation of the role of intracellular calcium in left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
Dr Julie Calvert, Vision Sciences Department, Glasgow Caledonian University & Professor Gordon Neale Dutton, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, for a two-year project on the identification, characterisation and management of dorsal stream dysfunction in children.
Dr Marie-Astrid Pezze, Centre for Cognitive & Neural Systems, University of Edinburgh, holds the 2006-08 Medical Research Scotland/Mrs Jean V. Baxter Medical Research Fellowship for her project entitled: "Dopamine signalling from the ventral tegmental area to the hippocampus, novelty, and memory encoding: investigating the substrates of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia".
Dr Bridget M. Johnston, Cancer Care Research Centre, University of Stirling, holds the 2006-08 Medical Research Scotland/Mrs Mary Tyson Nursing, Midwifery & AHP Fellowship for her project entitled: "To explore the experience of patients and carers regarding end-of-life care through the promotion of self care".
Dr Sally L. Pimlott, Department of Clinical Physics & Dr Andrew Sutherland, Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, for a two-year project to develop a molecular imaging tracer for the noradrenaline transporter.
Dr Iain Anthony & Professor Jeanne Bell, Department of Neuropathology and Dr Juan Carlos Arango, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Edinburgh, for an investigation of neuroinflammation and accelerated neuro-ageing in HAART-treated HIV-infected individuals.
Dr Rebecca Devon, Molecular Medicine Centre, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, to study the role of alsin and its interacting proteins in juvenile onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Dr Patricia Martin, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University & Dr Malcolm Hodgins, Cancer Sciences & Molecular Pathology, University of Glasgow, to investigate the therapeutic benefits of gap junction inhibitors in chronic wound-healing events.
Dr Thomas Gillingwater, Department of Anatomy, University of Edinburgh, for high-resolution imaging of synapse loss in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy.
Dr Kathryn Marshall & Dr Margarete Heck, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, for the characterisation of invadolysin, a novel human metalloprotease involved in mitosis and migration.
Dr John David Terrace, Clinical & Surgical Sciences, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary holds the 2005-07 Medical Research Scotland/Mrs Jean V. Baxter Medical Research Fellowship for his project entitled: "Characterisation of human liver stem cells during foetal development".
Dr Kevin Dhaliwal, Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh holds both the Cruden & the Mrs Robina Menzies Smith Medical Research Scholarships for his project entitled: "Macrophage-based gene therapy for neutrophil-mediated lung injury".