Biosciences

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.

Admin

Key contacts for Biosciences

How to update your web profile page or set up a new profile

For informaiton on setting up a staff profile or updating an existing one please vist the Profiles Sharepoint site.

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 (PDF)

Health & Safety

Code of Practice

The Biosciences Health and Safety Code of Practice provides practical guidance on safety standards, procedures, and activities undertaken in the department.

It covers all aspects of health and safety, from emergency procedures, general safety and good lab practice, to working with dangerous substances.

Sharepoint

The Biosciences Health and Safety Sharepoint contains risk assessment documents and Health and Safety paperwork. 

Key safety information and documents

Other safety standards

Research

Grant writing

Funding sources

The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) has over 140 member charities who fund research across the full spectrum of human health.

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

Other resources and guides

Inclusion

Diversity, Inclusion and Culture 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.

» Expected conduct, unacceptable behaviour and how to report it

Outreach

Science Devon

Science Devon is a hub for science communication and public engagement events within Devon. It features a searchable calendar 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)

ECRs

Early Career Researcher Network

The Early Career Researcher Network helps support postdocs and PhD students in their career development. Dr Helen Eyles and Dr Ulrike Bauer will lead the network from summer 2024, alongside a steering committee of peers from across the department.

Ethics

Research in Biosciences 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 and 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 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 (PDF) 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:

Please use the HTA adapted consent form template if your research involves the collection of human samples (blood, tissue etc) from participants.