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Appointments Panel

Roles and responsibilities

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Appointments Panel operates under delegated authority from the BBSRC Executive Chair. The panel is responsible for:

  • providing advice to BBSRC Council and Executive of the robustness of the nomination and selection processes used to appoint committees and panels
  • making recommendations as to the composition and membership of the Pool of Experts

The panel will also take an active role in the selection and appointment of the chairs of committees and panels.

In undertaking this activity, the committee is responsible for ensuring:

  • assessment of applications for, and appointment to, chair positions on BBSRC committees and panels
  • oversight of the principles and strategies used to appoint members to committees convened to assess applications to:
    • applicant-led mode
    • fellowships
    • follow-on fund
    • targeted mode initiatives
    • training grant competitions
  • oversight of the strategy used to appoint members of BBSRC’s Pool of Experts
  • oversight of the strategy used to appoint members of BBSRC’s Strategy Advisory Panels
  • providing external assurance of the quality and diversity of appointments to these groups, including disciplinary expertise, geographic, institutional and sectoral (meaning academia versus institute versus industry) variety, as well as protected and other personal characteristics (as appropriate)
  • providing advice on emerging areas of research for BBSRC’s Pool of Experts and Strategy Advisory Panels
  • oversight of and feeding into BBSRC classifications on an ongoing basis to ensure they are fit for purpose
  • maintaining connectivity across UK Research and Innovation on related activities

Members

  • Professor Eriko Takano, University of Manchester (Chair)
    Term ends: 30 September 2027
  •  Professor David Jones, University College London
    Term ends: 31 May 2027
  • Dr Kevin Wright, Procter & Gamble
    Term ends: 31 May 2027
  • Professor Nicola Gray, The University of Edinburgh
    Term ends: 31 May 2028
  • Professor Neil Bruce, University of York
    Term end: 31 May 2027
  • Professor Wenbo Ma, The Sainsbury Laboratory
    Term ends: 31 May 2027
  • Jenny Pople, Unilever
    Term ends: 31 December 2027

Meeting dates

2026

  • 11 June 2026
  • December (tbc)

2025

  • 27 June 2025
  • 8 December 2025

2024

  • 21 March 2024
  • November 2024 by correspondence

Contact

Appointments Panel Secretariat

Email: research.committees@bbsrc.ukri.org

Last updated: 30 April 2026

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