Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medicine Professor Jo Rycroft-Malone OBE has been appointed as Chair of one of the expert sub-panels that will assess research in REF 2029.

The chairs and deputy chairs for REF 2029 are appointed by the four UK higher education funding bodies, working with the REF Main Panel Chairs and Advisory Panel members.

Professor Rycroft-Malone has been appointed as Chair of Sub-panel 3: Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy alongside Deputy Chair Professor Carmel Hughes from Queen’s University Belfast.

She said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be invited to serve as Chair of sub-panel 3 for the forthcoming REF. With this being my second UK research assessment exercise and with the unprecedented challenges facing the higher education sector, I’m especially pleased to see the stronger emphasis on research culture in REF 2029. I am very much looking forward to collaborating with colleagues to ensure a fair, transparent, and robust process that highlights the range and depth of impactful research across a range of research disciplines and that shines a spotlight on research excellence.”

The panel chairs and deputy chairs will lead their units of assessment through the criteria setting phase, beginning later this year, and on through to the final assessment.

They are now working to appoint their full panels, ensuring that membership reflects the full range of required expertise with these appointments due to be announced in summer 2025.

REF Director Rebecca Fairbairn said: "I'm delighted to welcome this outstanding group to lead the REF 2029 sub-panels. Their deep expertise and broad perspectives will be central to building an assessment process that is fair, rigorous, and trusted by the research community. We have been working in partnership with the sector throughout this process, and I'm grateful to everyone who expressed interest - your engagement is what strengthens the credibility and value of the REF across our research landscape."

The list of appointed chairs and deputy chairs can be found on the REF website.

Professor Rycroft-Malone was awarded the OBE in the New Years Honours List 2023. She was formerly the Director for the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) Health and Social Care Services Delivery Research programme, Chair of the National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE) Implementation Strategy Group and is an Emerita Senior Research Leader for Health and Care Research Wales.

She has accumulated a body of research that resulted in her being listed by Thomson Reuters as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers.