Information for staff
This page aims to provide easy access to information and resources to support Biosciences staff. If you have any suggestions for things you would like to see here, please contact the Digital Team: digitalteam@exeter.ac.uk.
See also the Information for Life Sciences staff page for more FAQs on facilities, IT, marketing and more.
General admin
Key contacts for Biosciences (Streatham)
The documents below detail the Professional Services staff within Biosciences (Streatham) and academic staff in management roles.
How to update your web profile
To update your profile page, log in to the ROM system with your normal IT username and password, then search for your name in the search box.
Download a detailed guide: How to update your staff profile (PDF)
Setting up a profile
If you don't have a profile yet, contact the Biosciences admin team and they can set one up for you.
Correcting publication lists within web profiles
If the publication list within your web profile contains inaccuracies, it most likely reflects a problem within Symplectic. To correct this, refer to Instructions for correcting profile publication lists.
Health and Safety
Documents on this tab relate to specialist activities within Biosciences. All forms are in pdf format unless otherwise stated.
Code of Practice
The Biosciences Health and Safety Code of Practice covers all aspects of health and safety, from emergency procedures, general safety and good lab practice, to working with dangerous substances.
Download the Biosciences Code of Practice (PDF)
Key safety forms and documents
- Genetic modification registration
- Genetic modification risk assessment
- Microbiological risk assessment
- General COSHH risk assessment
- Ionising radiation
Biosciences H&S Sharepoint
Other safety standards
Research
Grant writing
Grant Proposal Submission and Peer Review Procedures (non-NERC)
Funding sources
Biomedical research charities
The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) has over 140 member charities who fund research across the full spectrum of human health.
Fungal biology: Professor Ken Haynes bursaries
Bursaries of up to £500 are available to assist PhD students, early career stage researchers and technicians in the field of fungal biology.
Education
Biosciences (Streatham) Student Admin Office (ELE page)
Via this admin office ELE page, you can access programme handbooks, marking criteria etc.
Useful resources for online delivery
User guides
Instructions for generating captions in Panopto
Other resources and guides
Teams, Zoom or Panopto A guide to help you choose between the three.
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous delivery Find out why the University favours asynchronous delivery.
Tech Trumps Help you find the most appropriate technology.
'Yammer' discussion group about digital learning & teaching across the University
Designing inclusive and accessible online modules
Setting rules & expectations within your online class
A guide to digital noticeboards
How long will it take my students to do that?
Box-of-Broadcasts An on-demand set of TV & radio resources for education.
Lecturemotely Find & share resources for remote teaching, assessment and student support.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Biosciences
EDI links
Share your thoughts
Inspired by International Women's Day and the #ChooseToChallenge, are there things you would challenge/question in the Department? Share your comments on Padlet here. (Please note that posts are visible to everyone.)
Expected conduct
Biosciences is a friendly and supportive department, where academics, researchers, professional and technical services staff and students consider their own behaviour and communications, and the impact that these can have on others.
We strive to be open, just, caring and celebrative in our interactions with each other. We recognise that personalities, characters, opinions and management styles may differ, but everyone is expected to work co-operatively with others in order to maintain our scholarly community.
Communication – whether verbal, through email or using online platforms – should be respectful and kind. We do not wish to dissuade people from engaging in constructive advice or criticism, where justified. However, notwithstanding the stresses of the roles we have or the desire to improve sub-optimal processes, our interactions need to consider other people’s perspectives and feelings.
Outreach and Widening Participation
Science Devon
Science Devon is a hub for science communication and public engagement events within Devon. It features a searchable calandar of events. If you are planning any relevant outreach activities, make sure you get listed at Science Devon!
Other resources
Evaluation toolkit for public engagement activities (developed by Queen Mary University)
Early Career Researcher Network
The Early Career Researcher Network helps support postdocs and PhD students in their career development. Dr Helen Eyles coordinates the network alongside a steering committee of peers from across the department.
» Find out more
Funding opportunities
Fungal Biology: Ken Haynes bursaries
Bursaries of up to £500 are available to assist PhD students and early career stage researchers in the field of fungal biology.
Research ethics
Research in Biosciences at the Streatham Campus is diverse and covers a range of topics from fungal biology, biochemistry, cell biology and development, microbiology, and evolutionary biology. All research has the potential to raise ethical issues, which must be given due consideration during the research process.
What are research ethics?
Research ethics refers to the application of moral principles that inform the research process, from planning through implementation to completion and publication of results. Researchers are responsible for the care and welfare of animals used in their research, and, in human research, should respect the rights and dignity of participants. The gain in knowledge from research must be balanced against any potential adverse consequences for the individual animals, human participants and populations involved, and the wider ecosystem and/or society. However, the huge diversity of topics and questions associated with human and animal research can often make judgements about the ethics of research difficult. To help biosciences researchers make clearer assessments of the ethical implications of their work requires a set of principles, established by codes of conduct and legislation.
Our policies
All our research work is guided by the University's Ethics Policy (pdf) and the Code of Good Conduct in Research, informed by the Universities UK Concordat to Support Research Integrity.
More specifically, research involving human participants should follow guidelines such as those drawn up by the British Psychology Society (BPS) (pdf) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (pdf).
Research on animals should follow the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) guidelines (pdf) and Home Office legislation, with consideration of the 3Rs the key guiding principle.
Researchers are expected to give consideration to the environmental, social, political, religious or economic consequences of any research undertaken as well as legal or professional obligations and any potential safety and reputational risks to participants, researchers, the Department or University.
Individual researchers are responsible for due consideration of the ethical implications of their research and, in order to maintain uniformly high ethical standards and provide an independent view, all research projects that do not fall under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (which are assessed by the University Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Board) and do not require external review (by e.g. NHS ethics committees), are assessed by the Exeter Biosciences Ethics Committee. The committee provides regular, independent assessment of the ethics of research projects and is comprised of members drawn from the range of research themes within Biosciences and from different research job families (academic staff, postdoctoral researchers, postgraduate researchers and technicians).
Getting ethical approval for your research
Refer to this Ethics flow chart to help you decide which committee to submit an application to.
Ethical approval is required before starting research. Access the e-ethics system for approval of research here.
For guidance, refer to the following documents:
For training in ethics please complete the Research Integrity module in Learnupon.
Further information specific to the Biosciences ethics committee and advice for filling in your application can be found on the Biosciences Ethics Sharepoint.
Please contact the Chair of the Exeter Biosciences Ethics Committee, Dr Bryony Williams if you have any queries about ethical approval.
Form templates for applications that involve human participants
Please upload these adapted forms with your application:
UoE Consent Form template (HTA adapted version) Please use this adapted consent form template if your research involves the collection of human samples (blood, tissue etc) from participants.