MEDICAL DONOR 'THANK YOU' EVENING 2019 
13 December 2019
Over 100 of the University’s health and medical research supporters joined faculty and Development Office staff on Tuesday 03 December to hear about the impact of their gifts and the importance of their continued support at the annual Medical ‘Thank You’ reception at Queen’s.
The occasion was hosted by Professor Pascal McKeown, Dean of Education and Head of School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences.
Before handing over to Professor McKeown, guests were welcomed by Helen Surgenor, Assistant Director (Fundraising) who advised a packed Council Chamber that £2,452,196.87 had been raised in the previous year, including over £1 million for the University’s new simulation centre.
In extending a warm welcome to patients, family and friends of patients supporting specific diseases, Ms Surgenor said: “Last year we raised over £672,000 for cancer research, £130,000 for the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experiment Medicine and £180,000 for Centre for Public Health.”
“On behalf of Queen’s and Queen’s Foundation, thank you to everyone for coming along and for supporting the medical campaign during 2019,” she added.
Addressing supporters of the University’s Medical School, Professor McKeown said: “Thanks to your philanthropic support, we are able to improve medical education by making it more accessible to students from different backgrounds, by offering them a better experience and more advanced teaching as well as supporting them through hardship should they need it.
“Your generosity has supported PhD students, MSc and travel scholarships, summer studentships, entrance scholarships for students from low income backgrounds, and the Hardship Fund for students with unexpected financial needs.
Before introducing his medical colleagues, Professor McKeown added: “100% of [your] generous gifts go directly to improving our medical research, providing seed funding for new projects and speeding up the process of taking new lab discoveries and translating them into new treatments for patients, impacting outcomes for patients locally and beyond.”
Those frontline medical research staff presenting at the event were:
- Dr Richard Turkington, who gave an overview of his research into gastro-intestinal cancers
- Professor Mike Shields, who delivered a presentation entitled: Why does asthma still remain uncontrolled for so many?
- Miss Natalie Fisher, who gave a short presentation on her research in bowel cancer
Ms Natalie Fisher is a PhD student in the School, who is supported by the Musgrave studentship, an award founded in 1922 under the will of Henry Musgrave for the promotion of scientific research. Natalie benefitted from support during her two summer studentships in pathology, which gave her a taste of research and inspired her to pursue her PhD at Queen’s.
The occasion also saw the presentation of the Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award to Professor Gerry Gormley for his work on the University’s new simulation centre and for going ‘above and beyond, giving of his time freely, always maintaining a cool sense of calm’ and for his ‘enthusiasm for, and commitment to, simulation based learning’, which was described as ‘infectious’.
To support health-related projects at Queen’s – including the Simulation Centre and medical research – visit the Development and Alumni Relations Office website or contact Teresa Sloan, Head of Health Fundraising, telephone +44 (0)28 9097 5394. Medical queries arising out of this news story should be raised directly with a GP/consultant and not with DARO staff.
Media enquiries to Communications Office at Queen’s University Belfast, or telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 5292.
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