More information to appear on the Scottish Charity Register from 9 March 2026, including charity trustee names and accounts documents. Click here for more details.

Charity Details

 

Darwin Trust Of Edinburgh

SC006400Registered charity from 19 April 1984
2MB ZIP file, with green, blue and mono style logos
2MB ZIP file, with green, blue and mono style logos
Charity Information:
Address School of Biological Sciences
Room 2.1 , Mary Brück Building
Colin Maclaurin Road
King's Buildings
Edinburgh
Postcode EH9 3DW
Regulatory Type Standard
Object:
To promote education and research in the Natural Sciences as such term as may be defined by the Secretary to the Royal Society but in particular for education and research in Molecular Biology and without restricting that general purpose to apply such funds and property for the purposes of maintaining, improving and developing the facilities for the teaching of undergraduates, for post graduate work, for research or for any other purpose in the development of the Natural Sciences and inparticular Molecular Biology in the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere all subjects as appropriate to the granting of all necessary consents of the Senatus Academicus, University Court, Dean of the Faculty of Science and the then Professor of Molecular Biology in the University of Edinburgh or similar bodies in any other University.
Operations:
What the charity is set up to do and how it does this:
The Darwin Trust of Edinburgh promotes education and research in the natural sciences, especially molecular biology. It primarily provides PhD studentships to support individuals who are not eligible for UK tuition fees, enabling them to pursue doctoral studies in biological or biomedical sciences at selected universities and research institutions. The Trust also offers undergraduate scholarships to support international students and occasionally provides grants to the University of Edinburgh for scientific initiatives and public engagement with science.
Charity Status: Active
Constitutional Form: Trust (founding document is a deed of trust) (other than educational endowment)
Constitutional Form Date: 19 Apr 1984
Main Operating Location: City of Edinburgh
Number of Staff: 2
Number of Charity Trustees: 9
Number of Volunteers: 0
Purposes: "the advancement of education", "the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science"
Beneficiaries: "Children or young people", "Other defined groups"
Types Of Activity Undertaken: "It makes grants, donations, loans, gifts or pensions to individuals", "It makes grants, donations or gifts to organisations"
Annual Submissions:
Year End Income Expenditure Annual Return Received Accounts Received Latest Annual Reports and Accounts
31 Mar 2021 £2,016,553 £3,895,311 01 Nov 2021 Yes
31 Mar 2022 £1,919,014 £4,371,456 18 Oct 2022 Yes
31 Mar 2023 £1,986,727 £4,455,548 29 Nov 2023 Yes
31 Mar 2024 £22,670,849 £5,611,482 16 Oct 2024 Yes
31 Mar 2025 £2,798,013 £5,618,278 17 Oct 2025 Yes Visit Charity's Website
If an annual return has been received on time (within nine months of the Year End Date), the 'Annual Return Received' box is green   . If an annual return is late, the box is red   .
Income and Expenditure:
Charity Trustees:
First Name Last Name
Prof. Kevin Hardwick
Prof. Robin Allshire
Prof. Jean Beggs
Prof. David Finnegan
Prof. Lesley Yellowlees
Prof. Andrea Brand
Edward Kirwan
Finlay Macdonald
Prof. Iain Mattaj
From 09 March 2026, OSCR is required by law to publish the names of a charity’s trustees as part of its Scottish Charity Register entry. We are also required to publish each charity’s annual report and accounts as received from this date, which may include the names of certain individuals. The only exceptions to publication are where a charity or one of its charity trustees applies for this information to be excluded, and OSCR is satisfied that publishing it would jeopardise the safety or security of a person or premises.

If the charity trustee information on a Register entry appears blank, this may mean that an exemption applies or that the charity has not yet provided the required details to OSCR. Supplying this information will become mandatory as part of future annual submissions.
Copyright

From 30 June 2025, OSCR began collecting charity trustee information through OSCR Online. Providing this information is a legal requirement for all charities. The names of trustees will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026 to promote transparency and strengthen public trust in the sector.

© Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator 2006. Crown Database Right 2006.

The Scottish Charity Register ("The Register") is subject to Crown database right.

The Scottish Charity Register is licenced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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When you use this information under the OGL, you should include the following attribution: © Crown Copyright and database right 2020. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

Charity accounts and constitution – what information do we publish?

The Scottish Charity Register contains key information about a charity’s operations and finances. This includes:

  • the names of a charity’s trustees (exemptions apply)
  • its annual report and full accounts, if submitted after 9 March 2026
    (Accounts submitted prior to 9 March 2026 will be redacted, or may not be published, depending on the charity’s income level or legal form.)

These changes are designed to improve transparency across the charity sector in Scotland.

Please note that we accept no responsibility for the functionality, accuracy, or content of external websites. If you experience a technical issue with an external link, you should contact the charity directly.

Under section 23(1)(a) and (b) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, you have the right to request the following information directly from the charity:

  • a copy of the charity’s latest statement of accounts
  • a copy of the charity’s constitution
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