At the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition, research governance ensures that our work meets the highest standards of integrity, quality, and impact. It encompasses the regulations, processes, and best practices that guide our research, fostering a robust and supportive environment for innovation and discovery.
Our governance efforts focus on continuously enhancing our research culture, enabling the production of high-quality research with meaningful impact. At the School level, this includes:
- Supporting key research staff in their roles
- Ensuring the effectiveness of our research committees and groups
- Overseeing critical areas such as REF2029, research budgeting, and ethics approvals
By embedding strong governance principles, we create a foundation for excellence in research that benefits our academic community and the wider world.
The sections below provide information on our
- Key Research Governance Staff
- Research Governance Committee structure
- Research Ethics Approval
- Research Policies
- Research support teams across the University
Research Committees / Subgroups
At the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, research is at the heart of everything we do. To support our mission of transforming health in the service of others, our Research Committee structure provides strategic oversight, ensuring that our research environment is dynamic, inclusive, and impactful.
The committees and groups below play a key role in shaping and supporting research across the School.
- SMMSN Research Committee
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This is the SMMSN strategy committee which guides and supports the School’s overall research objectives.
The remit of the group includes
- Developing, and driving strategy across the School’s research activities to meet targets and KPIs.
- Contributing to institutional consultations on policies, initiatives and strategic research planning.
- Disseminating new and revised research policies to assist implementation across the School.
- Providing strategic oversight of the School’s Impact agenda, via REF Steering Group.
- Receiving annual reports from key research groups/centres on significant research activities within the School.
- Monitoring success of research grant applications to external income programmes and grant support mechanisms
- Oversight of preparations for Research Excellence Framework (REF) and other research performance exercises
Chair: The Committee is chaired by the Director of Research
Membership: Membership of the committee is SMMSN Head of School; SMMSN Registrar; Institute Director or Institute Research Lead from the five Institutes; SMMSN – Lead for Postgraduate Research; SMMSN – PPI Lead; SMMSN – Chair of School Ethics Review Board; SMMSN – Chair of Laboratory Sustainability Group; Research Development Executive; Technology Transfer Executive – RKI; SMMSN Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Champion; School Research Manager
Administration. School Research Manager.
Contact: rmcgregor@abdn.ac.uk
- SMMSN REF Steering Group
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The REF (Research Excellence Framework) Steering Group is the senior management working group of SMMSN, responsible for directing and operationalizing the School’s preparation for REF Assessment.
The remit of the group includes:
- Overall, to plan, direct, and operationalize preparations for REF assessment.
- To plan and direct a continuous survey of REF Outputs; to monitor and analyze the development of the School’s Outputs portfolio.
- To plan and direct a continuous survey of REF Impacts; to monitor and analyze the development of the School’s Impact portfolio.
- To make strategic investment decisions regarding the use of School and University resources for enhancing the School’s Outputs and Impact.
- To develop an evolving perspective on the School’s REF Units of Assessment submission strategy, in collaboration with other relevant REF Leads and Committees within the University.
- To make strategic decisions regarding the profile of research-active staff submissions to REF Assessment.
- To lead the development of an overarching School strategy that will inform the strategic descriptions central to REF People, Culture & Environment statements and guide research investment from the Research Excellence Grant (REG) assigned to the School.
Chair: The Committee is chaired by the Director of Research.
Membership: Membership of the committee includes the SMMSN Head of School, SMMSN Registrar, Institute Directors (five Institutes), SMMSN Unit of Assessment Group Leads (2), SMMSN Impact Leads (2), SMMSN PCE Lead, and the School Research Manager.
The committee is administered by the School Research Manager.
Contact: rmcgregor@abdn.ac.uk
- Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition School Ethics Review Board (SERB)
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SERB is the School Ethics Review Board, for the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition. For more information on SERB, please click on the links below.
Background As part of the University requirements for research governance, all research involving human participants or biological samples requires approval from a research ethics committee. SERB (the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition Ethics Review Board) has been established to ensure that all research carried out by staff and students in the School is reviewed by an appropriate ethics committee. However, some projects will fall under the remit of Psychology, the Rowett Institute, or the NHS Research Ethics Service.
Other projects, including service evaluations and audit, do not require research ethics approval - although they may require other approvals. Under the resources tab, the document SERB Guidance 01 - Requirements for research ethics approval gives some guidance regarding:
- What approvals you may need;
- The difference between Research, Audit, and Service Evaluation;
- Special situation - e.g., studying NHS staff, or student projects; and
- Brief considerations about applying for ethical approval from SERB.
Applying to SERB - advice for applicants Applications to SERB must be submitted through Worktribe. More information, including how to access Worktribe, can found on the Ethics System: Worktribe webpage.
Under the resources tab, the document SERB Guidance 02 - Guidance for applicants gives advice for the preparation of your protocol and associated documents. Please refer to this document before starting your application.
All applications must include evidence of Research Ethics and Governance Training - more details are here.
SERB meeting dates for 2025/26
Key contacts
- General enquiries: SMMSN Ethics Review Board
- Chair: Professor Gareth Jones
- Vice-chair: Dr James Ross
- Clerk: Dr Katie Crosley
Resources - PGR Management Group
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SMMSN – PGR Management Group Update
The PGR Management Group for SMMSN is chaired by Dr Samantha Miller, SMMSN PGR Lead.
The members of the group are the PGR Lead Coordinators for each Institute (Alan Walker (Row), Peter McCaffery (IMS), Patricia Norwood (IAHS), Anita Laidlaw (IEHMS) and Anand Lalli (Dentistry), alongside School Registrar (Sarah Duncan) and School Research Manager (Rob McGregor).
Meeting monthly, the group works to develop and improve the PGR experience across the School, learning from best practice within Institutes and the wider PGR Community.
You can contact any of the PGR Coordinators directly to discuss PGR queries relating to your programme.
- Patient & Public Involvement Group
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The SMMSN patient and public research interest group was established as a resource to help facilitate engagement with PPI.
Please contact Diane McCosh if you would like further information.
Why is Patient and Public Involvement in research so important?
We have long recognised that collaborating with patients, carers, community and charity organisations and individuals with relevant experience positively impacts on all stages of research. Our goal is to ensure that patient and public involvement in research leads to:
- Identification of the most relevant research priorities.
- Better design, management and undertaking of research projects.
- Improved interpretation of findings within given context.
- Wider dissemination and sharing of findings to public and key stakeholders.
- A change to clinical practice or policy by implementation of research findings.
- Continual evaluation of impact from research.
- SMMSN Laboratory Sustainability Group
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Purpose: A working group to operationalise the School’s objectives relating to the Aberdeen 2040 Sustainability strategy, in the context of laboratory research.
The SMMSN Laboratory Sustainability Group plays a key role in embedding and advancing sustainable practices across the School’s laboratory research activities.
The group works to recommend, advise on and promote approaches that improve environmental and sustainable performance while maintaining the intensity, quality and safety of research.
It ensures that laboratory practices align with the strategic ambitions of Aberdeen 2040 and the School’s operational priorities, while also identifying and assessing new methods to enhance sustainability. The Group is central to the implementation of the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) within our School
Central to its work is engaging staff and students to drive behaviour change through communication and training, supporting adoption at the level of individual laboratories, and monitoring progress through benchmarking and performance measurement.
The group is co-chaired by our Director of Research (Professor Ian Stansfield) and our Technical Resources Manager (Lynne Lumsden)
Research Support Teams
There is support and information available to SMMSN Staff from across the University, the links below will take you to some of the key areas which you may find helpful.
Enterprise & Innovation support, guidance and information for staff within the University.