Professor Christie’s previous roles in the School of Science have included Associate Dean for Enterprise and Associate Dean for Research, with responsibility for supporting the School’s Doctoral Researchers. Externally, he has represented the University on the Local Clinical Research Network of the National Institute of Health Research and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership for collaborations at BioCity. He also ran the EPSRC Grand Challenge Network Dial-a-Molecule Summer School, which trained 50 European PhD students.
The Doctoral College leads on the delivery of research degrees at Loughborough and acts as the champion of our Doctoral Researcher (DR) community. It brings together academic and Professional Services staff from Schools and Services to deliver all aspects of the DR journey. Through the College, DRs have access to a wide of training, development and funding opportunities, events at both the Loughborough and London campuses, and a dedicated study and social space in Graduate House on the Loughborough campus.
Professor Christie says: “The University’s Doctoral Researchers make up a sizeable proportion of the University community. They are central to our current research ambitions and are the future leaders of their fields. The Doctoral College must ensure an outstanding experience for them and I am looking forward to working closely with DRs so that they have the best opportunity to thrive at Loughborough.”
Professor Christie will take up the post on 1 April, succeeding Professor Liz Peel in the role.
“I am delighted to welcome Professor Christie into the role; he brings a wealth of experience to support our Doctoral Researchers,” said Professor Steve Rothberg, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research.
“I would also like to say a sincere thank you to Professor Liz Peel, who is stepping down from the role after four years. Professor Peel has been instrumental in the development of the Doctoral College with notable achievements including the attraction of external funding, initiation of mini-Centres for Doctoral Training and introduction of the Supervisor Development Programme, not to mention leading the College through two very difficult years.”
Professor Rothberg added, “The College will play an integral part in the delivery of the research and innovation portfolio and I am looking forward to working with Professor Christie as we begin to deliver the University’s new strategy.”