Professor John Iredale announced as Medicine, Health and Life Sciences REF Chair

Professor John Iredale

14 July 2017

Professor John Iredale, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health at the University of Bristol, has been announced as Chair of the Medicine, Health and Life Sciences panel ahead of the next Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2021.

As one of four REF Chairs Professor Iredale will head up Main Panel A, providing leadership and guidance to the various sub-panels that undertake the REF assessment and advising funding bodies on decisions around the framework.

Professor Iredale said: “I am honoured to be invited to chair Main Panel A in the forthcoming REF and look forward to working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the other main panel chairs.”

He will take up his role later in the year, once the outcomes of the ‘Consultation on the second Research Excellence Framework’ (HEFCE 2016/36) are announced and further appointments to the REF panels have been made.

Dr Kim Hackett, REF manager at HEFCE, said: “I am delighted to welcome the REF Main Panel Chairs to the exercise. These four individuals bring significant research expertise and experience of research assessment to these roles, and will provide strong leadership and guidance in all aspects of the REF. I look forward to working with them to ensure we deliver a successful and robust REF 2021.”

Further information

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK universities and higher education colleges. The results of the REF drive the allocation of public funding for research. This major exercise is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies. It was first conducted in 2014, replacing the Research Assessment Exercise.

Find out more about the panel chairs for REF 2021.