BSMS > Research > Support and governance

Support and governance

At BSMS, we offer a full range of support to help you develop your research.

Research development

The Research Development Office (run by the University of Sussex) provides a dedicated Research Development Officer, Dr Florence Theberge, who advises and supports BSMS researchers. You can contact Florence at F.Theberge@sussex.ac.uk.

Support includes:

identifying sources of funding for research
disseminating funding information and providing advice on the bidding process
advising on the costing and pricing of bids
checking and approving all research grant applications and contracts (including Je-S electronic submission) as well as accepting awards
administering existing research business, including preparing and submitting claims to sponsors and monitoring compliance with the terms of funding
providing services to members of staff in negotiation for research and consultancy contracts.

Technical support

If you require laboratory-based facilities, training will need to be discussed with Dr Pinar Blowers (BSMS Technical Services Manager) in the first instance. You can contact Pinar at P.Blowers@bsms.ac.uk.

BSMS also has a statistician based in the Brighton National Institute for Health (NIHR) Clinical Research Facility, who mentors lead researchers in the use of statistics and provides training for staff to support grant development.

Studies involving human tissue

For those researchers about to conduct a study using human tissue that will require processing and storage, guidance on how to proceed is available.

Governance and ethics

We are committed to ensuring that the dignity, rights and well-being of research participants are taken into consideration in the conduct of all research projects being undertaken within the school, or carried out by BSMS staff or students in hospitals or elsewhere.

In support of this commitment, BSMS has introduced a comprehensive ethical scrutiny and governance process, which also includes a review of research proposals where BSMS staff or students are being asked to participate.

Information services

BSMS has access to the library collections of both universities as well as a dedicated medical library at the Audrey Emerton Building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Online reference materials including relevant journals are readily available through the library websites. Sussex Direct, the university's online intranet, supports you with the research process.

Support from our undergraduates

The undergraduate course is research-rich – lecturers are encouraged to update the course with their recent findings and students are encouraged to engage early with research activity.

Students are required to produce a research project in their fourth year. Many choose to prepare for this by supporting investigators on various projects early in their degree.

Some undergraduates have even been published or presented at conferences before graduating.