A leading Aberdeen anatomy professor has received a prestigious Royal honour.
Professor Simon Parson, who leads Anatomy department at the University of Aberdeen, has been appointed Regius Chair of Anatomy.
Regius chairs are prestigious positions instituted in disciplines judged to be fundamental and for which there is a continuing and significant need.
King James IV founded the first Regius Professorship at the University of Aberdeen in 1497 in the field of medicine.
There are only two Regius Chairs of Anatomy in the UK – in Aberdeen and Glasgow.
Professor Parson becomes the seventh academic to hold the title in Aberdeen since it was first held by Sir John Struthers in 1863.
Appointment to the role is suggested by the Scottish Government and approved by Her Majesty The Queen.
Professor Parson’s research focus is the pathology of the childhood motor neurone disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy, where in particular he has shown the importance of non-neuronal pathologies in the cause of the disease.
He has worked to increase opportunities for clinical and surgical training in the North East through collaborations with plastic, neuro and orthopaedic surgeons as well as anaesthetists. He is also a keen educator and heavily involved in planning, devising and delivering anatomical education to medical and science students.
Professor Parson was also recently selected as President Elect of the Anatomical Society (1887), which at 152 years is the second oldest Anatomical Society in the World. He will be the fifth Regius from Aberdeen to be President.
Commenting on the appointment, Professor Parson said: “It is a great honour to hold this prestigious title and to follow in the footsteps of so many influential anatomists who have held it in the past.”