Child health research at the University of Aberdeen has had a major boost thanks to the generosity of Aberdeen and District Cerebral Palsy Association.
The charity has given £100,000 to the University to fund a three year PhD studentship within the department of Child Health.
The donation has enabled the University to appoint Grit Scheffler who will work on a cerebral palsy project together with Dr Justin Williams, Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Professor Mark Mon-Williams, Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Leeds.
Details of the project will be finalised in the coming weeks.
Colin Taylor is chairman of the Aberdeen and District Cerebral Palsy Association. He said:“The Aberdeen and District Cerebral Palsy Association is in a position to fund this research project thanks to a legacy bequeathed to the charity by the late Mrs Isobel Margaret MacRitchie.
“This is so appropriate as Mrs MacRitchie's husband, Farquhar, was, for a long time, a lecturer on the academic staff at the University of Aberdeen.
“Surely both would have been delighted to know how their legacy has been used.”
Dr Williams added: “We are delighted that the Aberdeen and District Cerebral Palsy Association have agreed to support us in this way.
“Their money will enable Grit to carry out research into cerebral palsy which is estimated to affect one in every 400 children in the UK each year.”