IGC Professors Pleasantine Mill and Sara Brown have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy. They are among the 40-strong cohort of new Fellows in 2025, celebrating leading minds from across science, the arts, business, public life and academia.In addition, Pioneer of space technology Professor Asad Madni was elected as an Honorary Fellow and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh was made a Royal Honorary Fellow, while Dr John Gordon and Dr Suzanne Ramsay were made International Fellows.Prof Pleasantine Mill is an MRC Investigator in the Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC), where she leads a programme to understand genetic disease and disease mechanisms arising from dysfunction of mammalian cilia, called the ciliopathies.With more than 25 years of expertise in developmental genetics and cell biology, her work spans forward genetics screens to candidate discovery in human disease genetics. Her lab focuses on phenotype-driven projects which disrupt cilia structure and/or function to undercover underlying genetic changes, understand disease mechanisms and move towards much needed therapeutics for rare diseases. Her novel in vivo work can be summed up as ‘cell biology on an organismal scale’. Her lab harnesses quantitative imaging across biological scales (from light microscopy through to electron microscopy) to understand how different types of mammalian cilia are assembled and maintained, and how they are disrupted by disease-causing mutations. As an incoming RSE Fellow, I am thrilled to join this incredible institution driving innovation, debate and change in Scotland and beyond. It comes at a time when it is more important than ever for scientists to engage in advocacy and action beyond just the lab for the sake of our science and future scientists. Pleasantine Mill Personal Chair of Cilia Biology, MRC Human Genetics Unit Prof Sara Brown is a clinical academic dermatologist, combining work for the NHS with molecular genetic research in the IGC. She provides specialist clinics for people of all ages with skin conditions, focusing on atopic eczema. Her research team uses artificial skin, grown in the laboratory, to test how DNA and cell messaging can affect risk for eczema and related allergic conditions. The goal is to develop more effective strategies for the treatment and prevention of skin disease. It is a great honour, and I feel very privileged to have been elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The diverse range of expertise and experience in the Society gives a real opportunity to progress with the aim of ‘knowledge made useful’ for Scotland and beyond. My own work brings together caring for people with skin diseases, molecular genetic research, and patient/public involvement, so I look forward to contributing to these and all aspects of the RSE’s work. Professor Sara Brown Grant Chair of Dermatology, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine Full list of RSE Fellows Professor Pleasantine Mill Professor Sara Brown Tags 2025 Publication date 26 Mar, 2025
