Four members of staff at the University were appointed Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) this year. Professors Sarah Cleaveland, Paul Garside, Owen Sansom and Naveed Sattar were all honoured by the RSE who named 46 new members in all.

Fellowship of the Society covers science, arts, humanities, the professions, industry and commerce and Fellows are elected following a rigorous examination of their achievement in their relevant field.

Professor Cleaveland’s research is primarily interested in understanding the dynamics, impacts and implications of infections in natural ecosystems, with a focus on diseases in tropical countries.

The long standing theme of Professor Garside’s research has been investigating the fundamentals of immune regulation in vivo and applying any findings to infectious and autoimmune disease scenarios.

Professor Sansom works at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research and is working on understanding the early changes associated with colorectal cancer and indentifying new markers of disease and targets for therapy.

Naveed Sattar is Professor of Metabolic Medicine and his research is internationally recognised; he has published extensively in CVD biomarker, and diabetes-related research including work on obesity and related complications. 

In pursuit of its aim of the advancement of useful knowledge, as well as in accordance with its Royal Charter and charitable status, the RSE provides: independent advice to Government and Parliament; research and enterprise Fellowships; education programmes for young people; and conferences and events aimed at both public engagement and specialists.

Sir John Arbuthnott, the President of the RSE and eminent microbiologist commented, “In my first year as President I am pleased to welcome such a talented group of people to the RSE. Each new Fellow has achieved excellence in her or his field of work, whether in academia, public service or business. When I meet the new group of new Fellows at their induction in May I will encourage all of them to actively engage with the work of the RSE for the benefit of society here in Scotland and internationally.

First published: 26 March 2012

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