Research Ethics and Governance
Research Ethics and Governance
The Research Ethics and Governance team work across the University to promote research integrity and good practice in the conduct of research. They develop and implement policy and processes to support ethical review and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. The team works with researchers from all Colleges to facilitate licensing and approvals for research where required.
Members of the team are always available to provide advice and guidance on any matters relating to research integrity, ethics and research governance. The team work closely with the Governance and Compliance Office, Research Services, Technical Services and other Professional Service teams on a wide range of activities to ensure that good practice in the conduct of research is supported.
Visit our Ethics and Good Practice pages for more information.
Staff and Students seeking further guidance and information should visit the following Sharepoint Communication site:
Research Ethics, Governance and Compliance Communications Site
Worktribe Ethics System
The University has implemented a new Research Management System. The Research Management System, powered by Worktribe, will help our academic researchers and students to manage the full lifecycle of their research and its impact digitally.
Ethical research is a core part of any research lifecycle and as a result, ethics applications and reviews are usually conducted using this system.
University Users can access Worktribe Ethics here
Research toolkit
Find out all you need to know about the research process on the Research Toolkit.
Research Integrity
Find out more about University of Exeter's approach to Research Integrity.
Contact the team
Research Ethics and Governance Office
University of Exeter
Lafrowda House
St Germans Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 6TL
Email: cgr-reg@exeter.ac.uk
Dr Antony Walsh
Head of Research Governance, Ethics and Compliance
Takes a University-wide lead on all aspects of research integrity, research governance and ethics. Is responsible for developing policy and processes in line with regulatory requirements, legislative changes and best practice. Provides training for staff and students on research integrity and good practice, misconduct, ethics and governance and is the named point of contact for research integrity matters.
Duncan Jackson
Partnership and International Research Compliance Manager
Duncan leads an institution-wide programme to increase awareness within the academic community of export control, security related issues, UK and overseas government sanction lists, the Advanced Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), Nagoya Protocol, NSIA and other regulatory issues and international collaboration risks.
Duncan is responsible for supporting academic, research and professional services staff in setting up projects and ensuring ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements and agreements. They provide support for researchers on obtaining the appropriate licences and authorisations, complying with their funding terms and conditions, audit and inspections. Duncan will provide training, awareness and reporting across the institution as required and serve as a link between external agencies, research teams and relevant University professional services.
Duncan Joined the University of Exeter in autumn 2022 having previously worked in regulatory compliance delivering employability and rehabilitation contracts for DWP, ESF, National Lottery and HMPPS. And prior to this, supporting compliance with US federal law and ISO quality standards for IBM, working across a variety of government authorities.
Suzy Wignall
Senior Clinical Research Governance Manager
Suzy joined the team in April 2024 having worked in both academia and an NHS research setting. Before joining the university, she had various roles in clinical research, the first of which was as a Clinical Trials Assistant at Dorset County Hospital before becoming the Research Governance Manager there in 2016. More recently, Suzy was the Clinical Research Governance Advisor at Bournemouth University and supported researchers with regulatory, governance and ethics matters, from application stage to the end of their study.
Suzy is also part of the UK Research Integrity Office’s advisory community and the Alternate Vice Chair for the West Midlands – The Black Country NHS Research Ethics Committee.
At the university, Suzy is the Sponsorship lead for University of Exeter sponsored research. She is responsible for supporting researchers in setting up effective projects and for overseeing ongoing studies, ensuring they comply with regulatory requirements and Good Clinical Practice. Suzy works alongside the Head of Research Governance, Ethics and Compliance and the Research Governance Officers to provide support to researchers conducting clinical research projects.
Lucy Kesseler
Senior Research Governance Officer (currently on maternity leave)
Lucy supports clinical research that falls under the Health Research Authority in accordance with the UK Policy Framework for Health & Social Care Research. She works with the Sponsor Representative to advise on internal and external governance requirements to support the setup of studies by providing information on obtaining approvals and actively supporting researchers to produce study documentation and applications.
Lucy joined Exeter from the University of Edinburgh in March 2023 where she worked as a Research Radiographer. She is currently on maternity leave.
Tim Wilkinson
Senior Research Governance Officer (maternity leave cover)
Tim is on secondment, covering Lucy Kesseler's maternity leave.
Christine Anning
Research and Human Tissue Administrator
Christine is the Human Tissue Act Administrator, working closely with Dr Jacqueline Whatmore, who is the Designated Individual for the University in matters relating to the Human Tissue Act (HTA).
If you are removing, storing or using any human tissue for research or teaching purposes, the University must keep a record of it and decide if it is covered by the HTA. Christine can assist with this process and help to answer any queries. Additional information can be obtained by emailing HTA-return@exeter.ac.uk.
Rosy Armstrong
Research Governance Officer
Rosy supports the safe, legal and ethical conduct of the University of Exeter sponsored research. She is responsible for supporting researchers in new applications for HRA approval and ongoing studies, performing research governance processes to ensure that the rights, dignity and wellbeing of participants are protected and that the UK policy framework for health and social care research, Good Clinical Practice guidelines and the University’s research governance procedures are followed.
She provides researchers with an efficient friendly and timely service to support the setup of studies by providing information on obtaining approvals and actively supporting researchers to produce study documentation and applications.
Rosy joined the RE&G office in September 2016 having previously worked as an Associate Research Fellow in the Psychology Applied to Health research group within the Institute of Health Research at the University of Exeter Medical School. Prior to this she has worked as a clinical trial manager at the University of Salford, researcher and clinician at Intertek and at Unilever R&D laboratories and at the University of Wales Cardiff.
Carol Barkle
Research Ethics Officer - Medicine
Carol is the Research Ethics Officer for the Medical School. She supports the Medical School Research Ethics Committee (REC) in processing ethics proposals that are not otherwise reviewed by the Health Research Authority of the National Health Service. Carol is based in Cornwall and is homed within Education and Academic Services, but works closely with Research Ethics Governance colleagues to support health research across all campuses and both counties.
Natalie Knight
Research Ethics Officer
Natalie supports several Research Ethics Committes with ethics reviews, including:
Public Health and Sports Sciences,
Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences
Geography at Exeter
Natalie is a registered Operating Department Practitioner.
Jo Parsons
Research Ethics and Governance Officer
(Also available on MS TEAMS)
Jo helps to develop, implement, support and monitor operating processes and application systems related to research integrity, ethics and governance across the University in accordance with best practice, national and international standards and regulations.
Jo also works with Research Ethics Committees and researchers on the ethics review process, to ensure that research ethics and governance procedures are followed.
Prior to working at the university Jo worked as a Quality Assurance Officer and Administration Manager within the care sector.
Mark Slater
Research Ethics Officer
Mark supports ethics approval within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHASS). He works with the FHASS Ethics Committee and academic officers to facilitate approval of ethics applications and ensure that University research governance procedures are followed.
Mark also supports the University’s transition to using new online record and application systems provided either by the University or by regulatory authorities.
Mark has been a member of the Research Ethics & Governance Team since 2018. Previously he worked as an Assistant Management Accountant and Research Project Coordinator within the University.