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Pharmacy Professor appointed to Head of School

Professor Donald Cairns, an eminent researcher and academic in the field of pharmacy, has been appointed to the position of Head of School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences at Robert Gordon University.

Professor Cairns, who has taken over from Professor Terry Healey, stepped up to his new post in January 2012. The position includes responsibility for planning, coordination, development and supervision of academic work in the areas of pharmacy, biomedical sciences, forensic and analytical science plus nutrition and dietetics.

Prof Cairns obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of Strathclyde in 1980, and after a pre-registration year spent in hospital pharmacy, he returned to Strathclyde to undertake a PhD on the synthesis and properties of benzylimidazolines.

Following a year as a post-doctoral research fellow in the department of pharmacy at Sunderland Polytechnic (now the University of Sunderland), Prof Cairns moved to Leicester Polytechnic (now De Montfort University) where he lectured in Pharmacy for five years.

Professor Cairns was made senior lecturer in medicinal chemistry in Sunderland School of Pharmacy in 1992. From here he moved to the position of Associate Head of the School of Pharmacy at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 2003, and in 2006, was promoted to Professor of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry.

Since his arrival at RGU in 2003, Prof Cairns has attracted over £500,000 in external research funding. His research interests include the design and synthesis of selective anticancer agents, the molecular modelling of drug / DNA interactions and the design of prodrugs for the treatment of nephropathic cystinosis.

On his recent appointment, Professor Cairns comments ‘I am very pleased to be appointed Head of School and would like to thank all my friends and colleagues for their help, support, advice, encouragement and good wishes. I think it is a huge privilege to be asked to lead the School and I hope I can live up to the high standard set by my predecessor.’

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