Department research roles
Department research role holders are responsible for cascading research information to colleagues in their department. They are the first point of contact for research queries at a department level.
Research role holders
Director of Research
What does the Director of Research do?
The Director of Research (DoR) is a senior academic leadership role within a department/School. The role supports the strategic development of the department’s research activity, in order to achieve research excellence in relation to research quality, intensity and impact. In this the Director of Research supports the Head of Department as a member of the department’s leadership team in achieving the department’s vision and strategic objectives. The Director of Research chairs the departmental research committee.
Who does the Director of Research work with?
The Director of Research works closely with colleagues across the department, and is supported in the role by the department’s administrative team. The Director of Research also works closely with senior faculty officers and relevant members of Professional Services (particularly but not exclusively the relevant Faculty Support Team) to discharge their responsibilities.
Director of Research by department
The following hold the role of Director of Research for AY 2025/26
| Department | Director of Research |
| Computer Science and Electronic Engineering |
Professor Nikolaos Thomos |
| East 15 | Professor Rosemary Klich |
| Economics | Dr Xiaoyu Xia |
| Edge Hotel School |
Dr Gabrielle Lin |
| Essex Business School | |
| Essex Law School |
Professor Sabine Michalowski (Deputy DoR) |
| Government | Professor Kristian Gleditsch |
| Health and Social Care | Dr Konstantinos Roussos |
| Institute for Social and Economic Research | Professor Paul Clarke |
| Life Sciences |
Dr Greg Brooke (from January 2027) |
| School of Language, Literature, and Media |
Dr Christopher Bundock |
| Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science | Dr Murat Akman |
| Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies |
Dr Natasha Ruiz-Gómez (Autumn term 2026) Dr Michael Tymkiw (Spring term & Summer term 2027) |
| Psychology |
Dr Carina De Klerk |
| Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies |
|
| Sociology and Criminology |
Professor Renee Luthra |
| Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences |
Dr Jamie Tallent |
Director of Impact
What does the Director of Impact do?
The Director of Impact (DoI) is a senior leadership role within a department/school, they are responsible for championing and supporting impact within the department, while also maintaining oversight of the impact pipeline. The role supports the development of a supportive impact culture within departments and the strategic development of engagement and impact activity to ensure that there are sufficient high-quality engagements and impact case studies for the next REF and beyond.
Who does the Director of Impact work with?
The Director of Impact works closely with colleagues across their department/school alongside the Director of Research (DoR) and the Faculty Dean for Research (FDR). This role requires close coordination of activities with the Research Impact Team to develop a strategy to monitor, develop, support and encourage staff in all aspects of research engagement and impact. They will also support in the development of impact cases and other requirements for the Engagement and Impact section for the next and future Research Excellent Framework (REF) exercise or its equivalent.
Director of Impact by department
The following hold the role of Director of Research for AY 2025/26.
| Department | Director of Impact |
| Computer Science and Electronic Engineering | Professor Hani Hagras |
| East 15 | Professor Holly Maples |
| Economics | Professor Friederike Mengel |
| Edge Hotel School | Dr Gabrielle Lin |
| Essex Business School | Professor Alex Kontonikas |
| Essex Law School | |
| Government | Professor Kristian Gleditsch |
| Health and Social Care | Professor Reza Majdzadeh |
| Institute of Social and Economic Research | Professor Birgitta Rabe |
| Life Sciences | Professor Thomas Cameron |
| Literature, Film and Theatre Studies | Dr Nic Blower and Dr Karen Roehr-Brackin |
| Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science | Professor Xinan Yang |
| Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies | |
| Psychology |
Dr Wijnand van Tilburg |
| Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies |
Dr Katharina Rowold |
| Sociology and Criminology |
Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou (Autumn term 2026 & Summer Term 2027) Professor Renee Luthra (Spring term 2027) |
| Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences |
Dr Carly Wood |
Role holder change?
Keep us updated by contacting the REO Research Planning Team. We will update our record, ensuring you are on the mailing list and have the correct access to research reporting.
