Appointments

Peter T. Donnan BA, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, FRSS
Chair of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
College of Medicine, Dentistry and Medicine

Peter Donnan is a Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Medical School division of Health, Sciences, Research, and Education. He has 20 years experience in the design and analysis of Health Services Research including randomised controlled trials of drugs (most recently steroids in Bell's Palsy, NEJM, 2007) as well public health interventions (screening for breast cancer, Lancet, 1990).

He has also carried out extensive pharmacoepidemiological research on drug safety using Tayside's unique prescribing database and is the author of over 100 publications (h-index 26), as well as an investigator on research projects to a total of over £6 million.

He has developed a number of prognostic algorithms, most notably predicting Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) in people with type 2 diabetes (Diabetes Care, 2006), and Chief Scientist Office funded algorithm to predict risk of emergency admissions in primary care with a view to developing cost-effective interventions for long term conditions (Archives Internal Medicine, 2008).

A recent HTA-funded study reported on algorithms predicting liver disease in primary care patients with abnormal liver function tests, but with no obvious liver disease. These will be developed further into computerised aids to clinical decision making in primary care.

In 2004, Prof. Donnan was invited to become a member of the New Drugs Committee of the Scottish Medicines Consortium which seeks to advise Area and Drug Therapeutics Committees across Scotland regarding the cost-effectiveness of new drugs.

Mr Peter Wilson
School of Environmental Sciences

Former Chief Constable appointed honorary professor

Mr Peter Wilson, former Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary, has been awarded an Honorary Professorship in the School of Social and Environmental Sciences.

Mr Wilson retired from the police service in May 2008 after a very distinguished career that included being awarded the Queen Police Medal in 1998, being President of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) in 2005-06, and, from 2001 to 2008, Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary.

From 2005, Mr Wilson worked very closely with Scotland's universities by taking the lead on behalf of ACPOS for the establishment of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR). The SIPR is a collaborative project bringing together researchers from 12 Scottish universities, led by the University of Dundee.

'The idea of a research institute for Scotland which could provide an evidence base on which to develop policing policy and practice originated with Mr Wilson and it was his commitment to this project that lead to the discussions with the Scottish Funding Council and a successful application under their Strategic Research Development Grant scheme,' said Professor Nick Fyfe, founding Director of the SIPR.

'The result is a unique institute. There is no other policing research centre in the world that can boast such a wide-ranging partnership between the police and university research community.'

Mr Wilson represented ACPOS on SIPR's Executive Committee until he retired and now chairs its International Advisory Committee.

Mr Wilson said: 'I am delighted that I will be able to continue making a contribution to the work of the Institute through the generous award of a professorship by the University of Dundee. The imaginative collaboration between the Scottish Police Service and the university sector in Scotland has already been described as ground- breaking by police organisations and universities across the world.