John Savill

Sir John Savill is a clinician-scientist whose career has combined nephrology and acute medicine with research into how the body resolves inflammation. His scientific work led to the establishment of the MRC Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh.

John served as vice principal and head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine from 2004 to 2024, a period during which he oversaw significant developments in infrastructure, facilities, and strategic investment. Notably, he held this role concurrently with serving as chief executive of the UK Medical Research Council, bringing a national perspective to his leadership of the college. He also served as Chief Scientist Health in the Scottish Government.

Beyond Edinburgh, John has contributed to shaping how clinicians are trained as researchers, playing a leading role in developing integrated clinical academic training pathways across the UK. He now leads the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health in Australia, where he has established a pilot programme for clinician-scientist training.