“I am absolutely delighted that the University of Aberdeen is leading the way in reversing the brain drain of the past 20 years!” says Professor C. Duncan Rice, Principal of the University of Aberdeen
“An appointment to stiffen the sinews and strengthen the bones!” comments Professor Graeme Catto, Dean of the University of Aberdeen’s Medical Faculty
A world authority on spinal problems is set to join the University of Aberdeen as the Liberty Mutual Professor of Safety and Health. Professor Malcolm Pope, currently Director of the Iowa Spine Research Center at the University of Iowa, has a prodigious reputation as an expert in the field of spinal problems and chronic back pain.
US insurance major, Liberty Mutual, has gifted £1 Million over ten years to support Professor Pope’s research, while a further £5 Million has been committed for the construction of a dedicated occupational health facility at the University’s Foresterhill site.
The new facility will accommodate the Liberty Safework Research Centre, which Professor Pope and his team will run alongside existing University specialists in the field. Due to open in late 1999, it will also house the new headquarters for Liberty Occupational Health and a Primary Care Resource Centre incorporating a new home for the North-east’s emergency GP service, G-Docs.
University of Aberdeen Principal, Professor C Duncan Rice, said: “It is a privilege to welcome a scientist of Malcolm Pope’s distinction to the University and to the Medical School. I am absolutely delighted that we are leading the way in reversing the brain drain of the past 20 years.
“His move, together with his research team, from the USA to Aberdeen indicates the success of our strategic policy of recruiting the highest quality academic, wherever they are currently based, to position this University as a leading international institution. This policy is further assisted by the strong, mutually beneficial links that we have formed with Liberty Occupational Health and Liberty Mutual.
“Malcolm Pope’s move to Aberdeen signifies our determination to build on our existing international connections. It will also ensure that future research programmes meet the needs of our society.”
Born in 1941, and educated in London, Prof Pope’s background is in mechanical engineering. He moved to the US in 1969, joining the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut before being appointed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor of Mechanical` Engineering at the University of Vermont. In 1994, he joined the University of Iowa, where he holds various posts including Director of the Iowa Spinal Research Center, Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Preventive Medicine, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chairman of Biomedical Engineering.
An internationally renowned expert in biomechanics (the application of engineering techniques to medical problems) and ergonomics (the study of work, leading to recommendations on the prevention of injury), Professor Pope is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, as well as a Member and Fellow of several American and European committees and societies. He is also the holder of several prestigious awards, the most recent of which is the H R Lissner Medal ‘for significant research activity in knee and spine biometrics’ with which he will be presented this November.
Professor Pope, who takes up his new post on 1st August, said: “I was particularly attracted to the job in Aberdeen because of the partnership with the Liberty Mutual Research Center which I am sure will yield enormous dividends in the prevention of injuries and optimise rehabilitation.
“I was also enormously impressed by the strength in depth within the Medical School of colleagues who specialise in Preventive Medicine, Orthopaedics, Medical Physics, Engineering and the other departments with whom I will be working closely.”
Dr Tom Leamon, Vice President of the Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, added: “I am very pleased that Professor Malcolm Pope will be the holder of the Chair for Safety and Health at the University of Aberdeen. Pope’s work on the mechanics of the spine has been a major contribution to understanding the problem of low back pain disability in the workplace which is one of the most serious issues facing industry. Such work will provide outstanding symbiosis between the new Chair and the Department of Orthopaedics at the University.
“As the partnership with the Liberty Mutual Research Center and other components in our global network become established, I hope that we shall be able to draw on Professor Pope’s expertise and activities in Aberdeen, and also contribute to the programme development and research activities in ergonomics and occupational safety at the University.”
Dr Bill Gunnyeon, Liberty’s Director of Occupational Health, also welcomed the appointment: “More than 3.6 million working days are lost each year in the UK from work-related back injuries. Research in this area is crucial if this cost to UK industry is to be reduced. Professor Pope’s expertise will be a welcome addition to occupational health related research in the UK. We look forward to working closely with him and to ensuring that the outcome on academic research is reflected in day-to-day occupational health practice.”
Professor Graeme Catto, Dean of the University’s Medical Faculty, said: “Malcolm Pope is an internationally recognised authority on spinal problems. This appointment will stiffen our sinews and strengthen our bones. We already have one of the top bone groups in the world, combining interests in basic cell biology with clinical expertise in orthopaedics, rheumatology and osteoporosis. Grant income is in excess of £3 Million and some of the research has been published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Malcolm Pope’s appointment and the links with industry through Liberty Occupational Health and Liberty Mutual will ensure that our research studies are not only of the highest international standard, but relevant to the needs of our patients and society. Our Medical School, with the oldest Chair of Medicine in the English-speaking world, still leads the way.”
Further information from:
Christine Cook, Executive Director of Public Relations, (01224) 272013
Lyndsay Avern, Dragonfly, Public Relations, (01224) 592060