The Evelyn Trust, which funds medical research and health and well-being initiatives in Cambridgeshire, is delighted to announce that Rebecca and Nigel Wood (pictured below) have been appointed charity director designate and grants coordinator designate.

They will work together with Bill Pike, current charity director, until January 31 2021. At that point, Bill and Gill Pike, who is the outgoing grants coordinator, will retire.

Will Dawkins, chairman of the Trust, said, “The trustees are delighted that Rebecca and Nigel have taken on these critical roles. It is excellent news that the Trust will be in such expert hands, well qualified to build on the considerable progress achieved by Bill and Gill in the past 10 years. The Trustees owe Bill and Gill a big debt of gratitude for their dedication and hard work.”

Rebecca is former CEO of Alzheimer's Research UK, the leading dementia research charity, and Blue Smile, the Cambridgeshire children's charity. Nigel is outgoing research associate in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience in the University of Cambridge. They were appointed by the board of trustees after a rigorous search, in which a number of strong candidates were considered.

Bill and Gill (pictured above) said “Our time at the Trust has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our working lives and it is something we will miss. However, we are also pleased to be handing over in the next few months to Rebecca and Nigel, who will be excellent successors.”

Rebecca commented: "As a charity leader, I have always been aware of the importance of the Evelyn in the funding of great local causes and in supporting early stage medical research ideas and careers. We are really honoured to be taking over these roles from Bill and Gill and look forward to developing future ideas and projects with the Trustees to continue to best support Cambridgeshire's strengths and needs." 

The Trust has in the past decade more than doubled the size of its annual grant programme. Projects supported by the Trust include the Evelyn Perinatal Imaging Centre at the Rosie Hospital; the Evelyn Cambridge Surgical Training Centre; the Evelyn Research Endoscopy Suite within the Addenbrooke’s Clinical Research Centre; the Evelyn Day Therapy Centre at the Arthur Rank Hospice; and a commitment to support MAGPAS, which provides pre-hospital emergency care with funds for an Evelyn Training Centre at its new Alconbury base. It has also awarded 12 Evelyn Research Training Fellowships. 

Earlier this year, the Trust put in place rapid funding in response to COVID-19. This is supporting charities transferring services to online delivery; providing mental health support to frontline staff at Addenbrookes; and funding key research projects in the fight against the pandemic.

Whilst the handover to Rebecca and Nigel is taking place during this time of social distancing, they are enjoying e-meeting everyone involved with the Trust.