Profile

Portfolio

Coordinating the activities relating to teaching and research developments across the social science departments and related research centres in the University, fostering, in particular, interdisciplinary and innovative activities.

Biography

Director of the research centre SATSU and formerly Head of Department of Sociology (2005-9), working primarily in the field of the sociology of science and technology. The latter involving national and international research programme coordination (for the ESRC, MRC and EU) in the biomedical sciences (such as regenerative medicine).

Roles and responsibilities

What is your day job?

Apart from the range of duties as Academic Coordinator in assisting a wide range of social science departments in regard to academic, budgetary and personnel matters, I direct SATSU, teach undergraduate and postgraduate modules and am principal investigator and co-investigator on a number of UK and international projects.

My role is to help coordinate teaching and research, and to develop strategic collaboration accorss the eleven Social Science departments at York, as well as foster links with other departments on campus and else where within the UK and overseas.

Role on SMG

On SMG I am there to represent academic departmental needs to the SMG and help communicate SMG plans to social science Departments and Centres.

Other responsibilities

Member of the Senior Management Group and a range of university committees and Chair of a number of Department-based steering groups

External roles include:

• Member, UK Stem Cell Bank Steering Committee
• Chair Innogen Advisory Group (Edinburgh)
• Member of the ESRC International Benchmarking of Sociology Steering Group
• Member Scientific Advisory Group, Implementing Clinical Technologies University of Manchester
• NIHR Patient Safety and Service Quality Centre, Kings College London
• Member of the UK National Stem Cell Network Committee
• Member of editorial boards of major international journals and co-Editor of Palgrave
• Health, Technology and Society Series
• External Examiner for the University of Edinburgh (MSC in Science, Technology and Society)

About me

What makes me tick?

I enjoy developing collaborative research links both for myself and the University more widely. 

Engaging with students who have real enthusiasm for my field of work. 

My vision for the University

That the University continues to consolidate its standing as a world class university in particular through its research and teaching programmes and the range of facilities that underpin these.

Achievements

Elected fellow of the Academy of Social Science in 2007 and secured Visiting Professorships to Sydney, ANU (Canberra) and the Netherlands.

Successfully coordinated two major ESRC research programmes (www.york.ac.uk/res/iht and www.york.ac.uk/res/sci )

Register of interests

• British Sociological Association - professional membership
• UK Stem Cell Bank Steering Committee - member (unpaid)