Research culture
At the Exeter Centre for Medical Mycology, our research excellence is underpinned and enhanced by an open, ethical and supportive research culture. We embrace varied perspectives, contributions and skills to drive innovation and build a collaborative, inclusive, global community.
Responsible research
The centre adheres to principles of openness, probity and accountability: our research is published in open-access journals with unrestricted access to datasets. Ethical research practices.
Innovation is underpinned by an interdisciplinary approach which brings together medicine, living systems, biological, chemical, physical and mathematical sciences while also forging partnerships with industry and the creative arts.
Publicly engaged research: We work with patient panels and support equitable involvement of all partners in the research process, from inception. We promote public understanding through outreach activities and public involvement
We have all the required ethical approvals to obtain peripheral blood from normal human volunteers for our experiments. For our animal research, we have a current UK home office licence (P79B6F297) and ethical approval for our experiments in Cape Town (012/031).
Our groups implement the three “R’s” in animal experimentation and wherever possible we Replace animal usage, for example using cell lines. However, in vivo research is essential for studying immunological function, as cultured cells cannot replicate the complex interactions found in living organisms. Mice are sometimes necessary for our studies due to their advanced immune systems and availability of immunological reagents, including gene-deficient strains. We constantly Refine our techniques to Reduce animal use to the minimum required to obtain statistically significant results. We also adhere to the ARRIVE guidelines in our publications, to ensure that the data from our animal experiments can be fully evaluated and widely utilised.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Diverse research teams: 24 academic staff, early career fellows and 76 medical mycology trainees and collaboration with 78 international partners for a global perspective.
The centre has an EDI representative, with training for staff and advanced courses for leadership to promote inclusivity. Bystander Training
Two staff members were selected to join the "100 Black Women Professor Now" programme.
The University holds an Athena Swan Silver Award for gender equality and is a signatory to The Concordat for Research Integrity and the Declaration on Research Assessment.
Collegiality and Collaboration
Democratically led: Hybrid weekly laboratory meetings, attended by all CMM members including those from international units, allow individuals to learn from, and contribute to, wider activities across all research groups. This enables interdisciplinary working and facilitates peer-to-peer training and support. Directors take a proactive role in creating a respectful, open and empowering environment where centre members at all levels make their contribution to the research challenge.
Inclusive decision-making: All core Centre operational structures, like the management board, include student and postdoctoral representatives so they can directly impact how the Centre is run. Student questions are often prioritised in Q&A sessions ensuring all voices are heard.
Cross – disciplinary collaboration: The Centre is an exemplar of shared laboratory space, offices and equipment, which encourages collegiality and cross-disciplinary work among members. This increases support between different disciplines within the centre and allows everyone to benefit from the broad expertise available. For example, shared access to state-of-the-art facilities like the drug discovery platform or training in bio imaging or tissue culture techniques for centre members. Sharing also impacts sustainability with equipment and material reuse and recycling.
