Reappointments to the Medical Research Council
4 August 2005
Science and Innovation Minister Lord Sainsbury today announced two reappointments to the Medical Research Council (MRC).
Professor Kay Davies has been reappointed from 1 August 2005 to 31 March 2008. Professor John Savill has been reappointed from 1 August 2005 to 31 March 2007. Both Professor Davies and Professor Savill joined the MRC on 1 August 2002, and were appointed by reason of their qualifications in science.
Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of the MRC, said: "I am very grateful to Kay and John for agreeing to extend their services to the MRC".
For more information contact the MRC Press Office on 020 7637 6011.
Notes to Editors
The MRC is a non-departmental public body, established by Royal Charter and funded mainly by a grant from the UK Government. Accountable to Parliament, the MRC reports to the Office of Science and Innovation. The MRC, guided by its Boards and other stakeholders decides what medical science it should fund to deliver its Charter objectives and its mission.
The MRC is a national organisation funded by the UK taxpayer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work that has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC's expenditure of approximately £500 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools. Web site at: http://www.mrc.ac.uk.
Appointments to the MRC are made in accordance with the requirements of the Code of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry appoints members to the Council after considering advice from an Appointments Panel. Appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. In accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if any declared) to be made public. None of the appointees has been involved in any relevant political activities in the last five years.
Appointments to MRC Council are part-time, for which an honorarium of £6,120 per annum is currently paid (£8,160 per annum for those members who chair MRC Research Boards). Travel and subsistence expenses (including childcare costs) are also reimbursed. Council members contribute according to their experience and abilities through Council Advisory Committees. Members are expected to commit 20 - 25 days a year to Council business.
Members have a duty to bring an independent judgement to bear on Council business and are expected to observe the highest standards of personal honesty and integrity. Members are expected to adhere to the MRC's Code of Best Practice for Council Members, which sets out for example rules on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality and on declaring conflicts of interest.
Re-appointees' details
Professor Kay Davies is Dr Lee's Professor of Anatomy and Head of Department of Human Anatomy and Genetics, Honorary Director of the MRC Functional Genetics Unit and co-Director of the Oxford Centre for Gene Function at the University of Oxford. Professor Davies' main area of research is in the field of human neurological disease and functional genetics. Her research is funded by the MRC, various muscular dystrophy charities and the Wellcome Trust.
Professor Davies is currently a member of the Research Committee of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research (Manchester). She has chaired scientific committees at the Wellcome Trust and several medical charities. She is also an advisor on the Genetics Interest Group (London) and on the Board of Trustees of Lloyds Tercentenary Foundation. She is co-editor of Human Molecular Genetics and the Journal of Gene Medicine.
Professor John Savill is Professor of Medicine, Vice Principal and Head of The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. Professor Savill is a clinician scientist interested in inflammatory diseases; in 2000 he established the MRC Centre for Inflammation Research in Edinburgh. He has wide experience of peer review, having served on science and traing advisory commitees and boards at MRC and major charities, including the Wellcome Trust, Arthritis Research Council and the Health Foundation. In 2002 Professor Savill was appointed to the MRC and Chair of the Physiological Medicine and Infections Board (now Chair of the Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences Board, as reconstituted).
