Staff

Professor Iain Hutchison – Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, Chief Executive & Founder

Professor Hutchison founded Saving Faces in 2000 and is an unpaid Chief Executive.  His mission to improve patient treatment through clinical research led to the creation of Saving Faces. In October 2019, Saving Faces published the first nationwide mouth cancer surgical research, the SEND study, which will save 30,000 lives every year worldwide.

He commissioned a series of paintings by BP National Portrait award winner, Mark Gilbert charting the physical and emotional journey of facial surgery patients. The  Saving Faces Art Project portrays the faces of patients before, after and in some cases actually during their surgery for injury, deformity or cancer. The has had a dramatic effect on the public and has proved cathartic for the patients who participated. The paintings continue to tour the world and have been seen by over 2 million people.

He also founded the world’s only National Facial, Oral and Oculoplastic Research Centre (www.nforc.co.uk) which launched in 2014. Through its research, this centre will revolutionise treatment for patients with facial diseases, deformity and injury worldwide. He encourages surgeons to introduce clinical research into their day-to-day practice.

Professor Hutchison inspires and trains the doctors of the future and funds PhD students and surgeons in studies on cancer stem cells, the molecular biology of precancer and cancer, and the psychological aspects of facial disease and injury. He also trains research assistants in clinical research and has set up a tissue bank for future basic science studies.

He has published numerous articles and papers in high-ranked journals, gives frequent careers talks in schools and universities, and is in great demand as an expert media commentator and scientific lecturer at prestigious international conferences and events.

He is Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Barts and the London Medical and Dental School, Director of The National Facial Oral and Oculoplastic Research Centre (NFORC), Civilian Consultant in OMFS to the British Army and President of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) 2012.

Watch Professor Hutchison’s TED Talk

Read More about Professor Hutchison

Fran Ridout – Clinical Research Manager

Fran’s background is in psychology but has worked in numerous fields including IT, developing distance learning programmes, clinical trials. She was a member of the PACTS (Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety) from 2001 until 2003. Her publications cover a diverse range of psychotropic substances. She has presented at many conferences both in the UK and overseas. She is also Saving Faces’ information governance lead.

Samantha Merrett – Executive Assistant to Chief Executive / Finance and Data Protection Manager

Sam began working for Saving Faces in 2010. She graduated with a degree in Politics and a Masters in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is responsible for the accounts and financial management of the charity, web content writing and assisting the Chief Executive and Board of Trustees.

Hannah John – Charity Administrator and Finance Officer

Hannah graduated with a BA degree in Sociology in 2016. She has previously worked at a national children’s charity working in both their policy and campaigns team and their practice improvement team. She provides executive support to the Chief Executive, the Board of Trustees and the Finance Manager with the management of the charity. Her responsibilities include donor management, finance administration and overseeing fundraising events. She also oversees day-to-day operations in the office as Saving Faces’ office manager, and provides assistance with Saving Faces research.

Ping San – Clinical Researcher

Ping graduated in 2016 with a BSc degree in Psychology with Counselling and Health Psychology at City, University of London. She also graduated in 2018 with a MSc degree in Health Psychology at King’s College London. She ensures that Saving Faces’ clinical and health promotion studies run smoothly and she is the trial coordinator for the SEND and GRAD study. Her responsibilities include liaising with hospital staff and other collaborators to facilitate study development and data collection. Additionally, she assists with enquiries to the helpline and matching callers to an “expert patient” who can offer advice and support.