There is to be a new Vice Chancellor for research at the University.
Debbie Smith, who used to head the department of Biology, recently agreed to take up the post of Pro Vice Chancellor for research.
She is aiming to ‘refresh the University’s research strategy and ensure that York remains at the forefront of research-intensive Universities in the UK’.
Smith has held many important academic positions in the past, including Deputy Head of the Biochemistry Department and Deputy Head of the Graduate School of Life Sciences and Medicine at Imperial College, and after she moved to the University of York in 2004, she helped establish the Immunology and Infection Unit, and chaired the Infections and Immunology Board of the MRC. She is also currently co-Chair of the Wellcome Trust Interview Panel.
She will be instated as the Vice Chancellor for research this term.