On Tuesday 26th January AICR’s head office in St Andrews was honoured with a visit from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Ms Nicola Sturgeon MSP. Ms Sturgeon was eager to find out about the research we fund and how we raise the staggering £17 million to achieve this. Ms Sturgeon firstly met with our Chief Executive, Mr Norman Barrett, and Chair of the Board of Directors, Mr James Murray, to find out how we raise such vast amounts of money. She then joined the Grants team in their office to understand how we ensure the money is spent on the most promising cancer research applications we receive. She was also able to see first hand the large piles of applications currently under review.
Ms Sturgeon said ‘What AICR achieves is fantastic. Basic research, like that funded by the charity, really lays the foundations for improvements in detecting and treating cancer. Scotland can be proud of the amazing research AICR funds all around the world; research which is vital to help save the lives currently being lost to cancer.’
Ms Sturgeon was accompanied on the visit by Mr Mike Stevens, Deputy Director of the Chief Scientist Office, who was also extremely impressed with what AICR has achieved over the last 30 years and our ambitious plans for the future. We were delighted that Ms Sturgeon and Mr Stevens took time out from their busy schedules to visit AICR.
Norman Barrett said ‘It has been a pleasure showing Ms Sturgeon and Mr Stevens around our head office today. We are currently funding 214 cancer research projects in 24 countries - that's an investment of more than £35m and a remarkable achievement for the 21 members of staff employed by the charity. It's important for people to understand that for every project we fund there is another worthy of funding that we simply cannot afford. Therefore, a big part of our time is spent urging people to help raise as much money as possible and enable us to support more vital cancer research."
(L:R James Murray, Lara Bennett, Nicola Sturgeon, Norman Barrett, Debbie Wheelans)
