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The Research Culture team are delighted to announce the shortlisted entries to this year’s Research Culture Awards.

All submitted entries have been through an internal review process to produce our shortlist, which are the highest ranking entries for each award category.  

The Research Culture Awards are an important way that Sussex recognises, rewards and celebrates contributions to strengthening and growing our positive Research Culture. 

Winners will be announced at the Research Culture and Research Impact Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 18th June in the ACCA.  

More information about the work of each applicant will be available on the . 

 1. Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration Award 

Prof Ann Light (ENGINF) – Creative Practice for Transformative Futures – from art to science to policy, influencing the UN and commended for collaboration.  

Prof Mari Martiskainen (USBS) – Developing Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC), an interdisciplinary £15m UKRI-funded centre across 13 universities.  

Dr Joanna Smallwood (LPS) – Implementing the Rights of Nature, the rights of the Andean bear and the rights of local communities to land titles in the Ecuadorian Andes. 

Dr Jo Walton (MAH) – Games and Storytelling for Sustainable Futures. 

 2. Openness in Research Award 

Dr Reny Baykova (Psychology) – Improving and certifying the reproducibility of to-be-published psychology research papers. 

Dr Dominique Makowski (Psychology) – Make reproducible science accessible! Building software to facilitate open research and lead by example with fully transparent studies.  

Dr Kate Shaw (MPS) – Bringing Large Hadron Collider Data to the World. 

 3. Research Leadership Award 

Dr Sabina Avdagic, Dr Tanya Palmer, Dr Lucy Welsh (LPS) – The Writing Lab team has created a supportive and inclusive space for members of LPS to develop individual or group writing projects, with tangible outcomes. 

Dr Christopher Brown (MPS) – Developing and strengthening the MPS research community. 

Prof Divya P. Tolia-Kelly (Global) – Building an inclusive research culture in Global Studies: Sussex University BAME and Women’s Coaching and Network. 

Dr Helen Tyson and Dr Hope Wolf (MAH) – The Centre for Modernist Studies' 'Artist in the Archives' scheme, co-directed by Dr. Helen Tyson and Dr. Hope Wolf. 

4. Early Career Research Leadership Award 

Ioannis Papadakis (USBS) – Established a lasting interdisciplinary reading group, securing funding and involvement from early-career economists and lawyers. 

Dr Natacha Rossi (Life Sciences) – Co-founder of Animal Behaviour Live, an international platform promoting sustainable and inclusive events for free. 

Dr Faiz Sheikh (Global) – Intergalactic research culture: flattening hierarchies with science fiction.  

Dr Victoria Grace Walden (MAH) – Attracting a 4 million Euro grant to establish a 5-year Digital Memory Lab at Sussex. 

 5. Professional Services Research Culture Leadership Award 

Medeni Fordham (MAH) – Leading strategic and supportive initiatives to improve MAH research culture and collaboration 

Bethany Logan (Library) – Supporting the shift to an open research culture across the University 

Dr Deeptima Massey (BSMS) – Making a positive difference, bringing research cultural shift, introduced an all inclusive array of research workshops and events, increased Open Access compliance, created a vibrant impact culture. 

Dr Yolanda Pena-Oliver (RES) – Grant Idea pitch sessions: facilitating early peer review to improve research and funding applications quality 

 6. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Award 

Dr Elizabeth Rendon-Morales (ENGINF) – ECR Women’s pilot: Growing leadership in women early careers researchers 

Lisette Whittaker (HR) – Ensuring Sussex staff are able to thrive through all stages of the Menopause 

7. Ethical Research Award (staff at all career stages) 

Dr Gem Aellah (BSMS) – We need to remember talk more often, and in better ways, about both regulatory and relational ethics.  

Prof Nicola Yuill (Psychology) and Dr Jacqui Shepherd (ESW) for Autism Community Research Network Sussex (ACoRNS) – Sharing ethical participatory research practices via a community autism network. 

Dr Alison Lacey and Dr May Nasrawy (ESW) – From recruitment to the archive: innovations in ethical research practice with seldom-heard families. 

8. Ethical Research Award (PGR) 

Joshua Francis (Psychology) – Discovering Ethical Practices Within Youth Research Beyond Guidelines. 

Tiffany Murphy(MAH) – Close to My Heart: PGR Perspectives – a space to speak from the heart and connect.