Dear colleagues,
I am delighted to let you know that we have appointed Professor Nicholas Forsyth as our new Vice-Principal (Research).
Professor Forsyth’s appointment follows an extensive recruitment process to appoint an exceptional individual to join the Senior Management Team of the University. The Vice-Principal (Research) is responsible for leading the University’s research activity and for inspiring and supporting the University community to make world-leading contributions to knowledge and practical impact.
Professor Forsyth will take up the position on 1 August 2023.
He joins us from Keele University where he has been Dean of Research within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences since 2019. Professor Forsyth joined Keele in 2007 as a Lecturer in Stem Cell Biology before being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2010, followed by Reader in 2013, and Professor in 2015. Shortly after securing his chair, he was appointed as Director of the Research Institute for Science in Technology in Medicine in 2016. Prior to joining Keele, he undertook two postdoctoral positions; a US Department of Defence Breast Cancer Research Programme fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre at Dallas (2000-2004) and a Geron Corporation-sponsored fellowship at the Roslin Institute (2004-2006).
Commenting on his new role, Professor Forsyth said: “I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity to join the University of Aberdeen as VP (Research). The interdisciplinary research agenda at Aberdeen is what attracted me initially to the role and the promise this holds for generating innovative, impactful, and influential change. This attraction was reinforced during my visits by the energy and enthusiasm of everyone I met, outstanding infrastructure and facilities, and the real sense of standing within the local community and beyond. It's exciting to be joining Aberdeen this summer and I look forward to joining this exceptional, genuinely broad-based, research-focussed University at that time."
I hope you will join me in welcoming Nicholas to the University and I look forward to working with him later this year.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our current Vice-Principal (Research) Professor Marion Campbell who has held the position for six years. Marion has been an exemplary member of the University’s Senior Management Team and will continue to serve the University within the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition in her role of Co-Director of the Royal College of Surgeons England (RCSEng) Aberdeen Surgical Trials Centre.
Best wishes
George
George Boyne
Principal & Vice-Chancellor