What is your role and what does it involve?
I am the Research Impact Manager for Life and Medical Sciences in UCL Research, Innovation and Global Engagement (RIGE). The role is really varied, our team work at the individual project level to track and maximise impact, at the faculty or department level to build impact strategies, and the institutional level to highlight the impact of UCL’s programmes and teams.Of course, it’s hard to avoid mentioning the Research Excellence Framework (REF), a big part of our team’s role!
How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?
I’ve been at UCL since December 2023. Before my current role, I was in business development roles at Queen Mary University of London and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. I’ve also worked in market access consulting and medical writing. I’ve been lucky enough to have had a variety of roles in life sciences over the past 10 years and working in impact means I draw on all these skills and experience every day!What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?
Its hard to pick just one! Since joining UCL, I’ve been involved in multiple projects across the university, including being awarded a research culture grant to establish a platform to showcase a faculty’s varied and incredible impact to co-leading UCL’s Impact CoP, and convening a task and finish group to meet faculty REF2029 needs.But actually, I’m really most proud of the achievements in my day-to-day role. I’ve been working with faculty colleagues to develop our REF2029 impact case study longlisting efforts across the life and medical sciences faculties. Since joining UCL, I’ve built collaborative relationships that have made the process both effective and enjoyable. I’m proud to say that we should have a demonstratable longlist of impact case studies for all REF disciplines across life and medical sciences before the end of the academic year 2025/2026 (although these lists will be dynamic and subject to change given REF2029 is still a few years away!).
Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list
Currently I’m working as part of an amazing team to bring ’Transform: Creating impact through knowledge exchange’ life! This second programme of events will run in June 2025 and give UCL staff and doctoral students the opportunity to develop the awareness, skills and confidence to get involved in knowledge exchange at UCL and make an impact. We have curated an excellent and varied programme with internal and external colleagues running a range of live events, including training, one-to-one advice sessions, workshops, panel discussions and networking. Anyone interested can check out and book sessions on the Transform 2025 SharePoint site.For me, I’ve really valued the chance to get stuck into working collaboratively with colleagues across UCL’s professional services on a project where we are all passionate about the same goal. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working as part of
What is your favourite album, film and novel?
Album: Warm On A Cold Night by Honne conjures great memories - but also anything by Taylor Swift or Little Mix!Film: I find films difficult (too long to sit still for!). The last film I saw at the cinema was Free Solo in 2018 (yep, 7 years ago!) and that was excellent.
Novel: The Power by Naomi Alderman - sci fi isn’t usually my genre but this book has a lot of layers and made me think!
What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?
Why do you never hear pterodactyls going to the toilet? Because they have a silent pee (my niece told me this one!)Who would be your dream dinner guests?
To be honest, I’d love a chance to catch-up with friends I’ve made at different stages of life but subsequently lost touch with! It would end up being a random mix of people, but we’d have a lot of fun.What advice would you give your younger self?
Focus on doing the things you enjoy - not the things that you think make you successful!What would it surprise people to know about you?
I love wine so much I took a course all’about it and now have a qualification to show for it (not quite sommelier level)! I also ran a wine marathon in France at the end of last year.What is your favourite place?
Vienna in the summer. I spent a few months there doing an undergraduate research internship and had the most incredible time. Spent weekends swimming in the Danube and evenings drinking wine outside the Opera House - incredible!But also, the top of any mountain with my spaniel!
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