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Welcome
Thank you for your interest in finding out more about the Alfred Stewart Trust. We are excited at the prospect of what this charitable organisation holds as we look to the future with the appointment of Trustees.
Alfred Stewart MBE was a successful property developer and businessman, who established the Trust in his will, to support the people of Scotland, particularly in the area of his upbringing in Dunfermline, Fife. The Trust was established to fund and support medical research and other charitable activity and most of the funding has been to support the Scottish Photodynamic Therapy Centre (SPDTC), which is based at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
Mr Stewart’s association with photodynamic therapy (PDT) began in 1993, when his first wife Barbara received excellent cancer care, improving her quality of life prior to her death in 1999. In recognition of this, Mr Stewart established the Barbara Stewart Cancer Fund, which fully funded the SPDTC for its first six years, with its official opening being in 2001. Subsequently, ongoing generous donations from the Alfred Stewart Trust to the SPDTC, along with funding supported from the associated charity Medi-Lase, and donations from patients and families, have enabled the evolution of the SPDTC to its current position.
Photodynamic therapy and photodiagnostic techniques, employing light-activated drugs and visible light are offered through the SPDTC as invaluable diagnostic and therapeutic options for patients with certain types of cancer – notably those of skin, brain, lung and bladder. Since the opening of the SPDTC we have undertaken approximately 14,500 PDT and photodiagnostic procedures for patients in Scotland. The Centre is established internationally as a centre of excellence in PDT, offering invaluable patient-directed research, training and education in the use of PDT and photodiagnostic techniques, with >120 publications arising from the Centre, and numerous presentations at international conferences to raise awareness of PDT, the SPDTC and the Alfred Stewart Trust.
The Trustees will principally endeavour to offer financial provision and support for projects carried out in the SPDTC at Ninewells and to help improve the quality of life of the people of Dunfermline and Fife through the support of other projects. This is an excellent opportunity to appoint and welcome on board Trustees as this will enable the Trust to develop and flourish further.
Professor Sally Ibbotson
Clinical Professor University of Dundee