Dr Sharon Hutchison was a friend and colleague in our melanoma research group at the University of the Highlands and Islands. She was researching the genetic predisposition to melanoma and how the genomic changes within melanomas influenced the body’s immune response to them. Sharon was herself diagnosed with a cutaneous melanoma at the start of 2019, which arose from an existing mole on her neck. Her melanoma was particularly aggressive and sadly, she died at the end of December 2019. Sharon is a much missed friend and member of our melanoma research team. Her friends, family and colleagues at UHI have been raising money in her memory for MyMelanoma. This has included a winter’s ‘feel good for a fiver’ event, a 10,000 steps a day challenge in April and people undertaking various races or volunteering at events, including the Inverness half marathon, the Highland Cross, the Loch Ness Etape and the Loch Ness 360.

Sharon was not only an excellent scientist, but also loved an adventure, was not afraid of big endurance challenges and went crazy for all kinds of animals, big or small. There are many more upcoming events based around these things she loved to do, to raise vital funds in memory of Sharon.

Fundraising is ongoing for MyMelanoma, and you can find details of this here:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/antonia-pritchard