
Leading Ulster academic, Professor Victor Gault, Associate Dean (Research and Impact), Faculty of Life & Health Sciences, has recently been appointed as a member of the REF 2021 sub-panel 3: Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy. Professor Gault was appointed through a nomination process earlier this year. Over 2,000 organisations with a clear interest in the conduct, quality, funding or wider benefits of publicly funded research were invited by the funding bodies to put forward nominees.
This appointment brings the total number of Ulster staff appointed to the REF main and sub-panels, and the Equality and Diversity Advisory Panel (EDAP) to eleven.
Professor Cathy Gormley-Heenan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and External Affairs at Ulster University, commented:
This appointment is richly deserved and I would like to extend my congratulations to Professor Gault. Being nominated and then appointed demonstrates the deep respect that Victor commands in the research community and among wider stakeholders across a breadth of disciplines and expertise. Victor will work closely with the main panel in carrying out the detailed assessment of submissions. This is a significant responsibility but there is none better placed to take on the task at hand than Victor and I wish him every success in his deliberations
The REF is the system for assessing research in UK higher education institutions and is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies. REF is a process of expert review comprising 34 Sub-Panels (working under the guidance of four Main Panels) assessing the research outputs, impact and environment submitted by HEIs to 34 Units of Assessment.
Source: Ulster University