Editorial Team

Managing Editor

Simon Kerridge, University of Kent (United Kingdom) [honorary].  Simon was the Directory of Research Services at Kent and is now founder and principal consultant at Kerridge Research Services.  He has a passion for the profession of research management and administration, leads the series of Research Administration as a Profession (RAAAP) projects, and was an editor on The Emerald Handbook of Research and Administration Around the World book.

Editorial Board

Craig Aaen-Stockdale, BI Norwegian Business School (Norway) is a senior advisor in the research administration at BI and specializes in bibliometrics, altmetrics, impact, scholarly publishing and research evaluation. His academic background is in the psychology and neuroscience of human sensory systems. He has a PhD in vision science from the University of Nottingham and has worked as a postdoctoral researcher and a consultant in the maritime and energy industry.

Silke Blohm, 4Sciences Group Ltd (United Kingdom). Silke works with universities, research funders and policy makers globally, supporting the whole research lifecycle and HE development. She has more than 25 years of experience in organisational & strategy development, creating governance & policy frameworks and research support structures. She has held senior management positions on three continents, most recently as Senior Advisor to the Pan-African University, Cameroon, Director of Research & Enterprise at SOAS, UK, and at KAUST, Saudi Arabia. She holds post graduate degrees in physics and international business and is a doctoral researcher at the International Centre for Higher Education Management, ICHEM, University of Bath.

Ian Carter, Carter Research Management (United Kingdom). Ian is an independent consultant in research and innovation management, with over 30 years’ experience in research management, across a range of topics and contexts.

Kieran Fenby-Hulse, Teesside University (United Kingdom). Kieran is an experienced lecturer, facilitator, and researcher with over 15 years experience in research, impact and evaluation, and leadership and organisation development. He is currently Associate Dean (Research and Innovation) and Research Director for the Institute for Collective Place Leadership. His research interest include civic and community engagement, imagination, and research impact.

Melinda Fischer, Clemson University (United States of America).  Melinda has been in the field of Research Administration since 2013 and has enjoyed a variety of roles.  She is currently the pre-award Manager of the Office of Research Services in the College of Education.  Melinda is the PI of the NCURA-funded RAPIdS project, Co-PI for RAAAP-3 project, and was the North American regional editor for The Emerald Handbook of Research and Administration Around the World.  

Lessing Labuschagne, University of South Africa (South Africa). Lessing is the Executive Director: Research, Innovation & Commercialisation at the University of South Africa (Unisa). He is operationally responsible for leading the Directorate of Research Support and the Directorate of Innovation, Technology Transfer & Commercialisation.  He also leads the Professional Research Group (PRG), a structure to support research capacity development and all research activities of professional employees.  In 2021, Lessing obtained professional recognition as a Senior Research Management Professional (SRMP) from the International Professional Recognition Council (IPRC). He also serves as a non-executive director on the board of Project Management South Africa (PMSA) and Honorary Academic Advisor for the PM World Journal.

Siyanda Manqele, University of Zululand (South Africa). Siyanda is currently a Manager - Research Ethics and Postgraduate Studies at the University of Zululand responsible for the institutional RECs in Animal Use & Human subjects and Higher Degrees Committee administration. He is also responsible for all postgraduate students’ research capacity development , supervision, sense of belongingness, application & examination processes. He has 12 years of experience in research management & administration in the institutions of Higher Education, having worked at the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) dealing with research outputs/publications and Rhodes University (RU) focusing in research ethics management, coordination and administration for both HREC & AREC. He is the chairperson/founder of the Eastern Region "Community of Practice" (CoP) which covers through SARIMA on research ethics management formally launched in July 2020. In 2023, Siyanda obtained professional recognition as a Research Management Professional (RMP) from the International Professional Recognition Council (IPRC) from 2023-2028.

Maria Maunula, University of Turku (Finland). Maria is a Senior Research Funding Specialist with a focus on the Medical and Biomedical sectors at the University of Turku, Finland. She has a PhD in Political Science obtained in 2008. Her expertise is primarily in facilitating EU funding, especially ERC grants since 2012. As an engaged member of EARMA since 2017, she has played numerous pivotal roles, including her current position in the Professional Development and Recognition Committee (PDRC). Her previous contributions include serving as an elected board member and chairing the Annual Conference Programme Committee (ACPC) of EARMA. Maria is passionate about innovating and sharing best practices within the Research Management and Administration (RMA) community and supporting blue skies research.

Joanne Marsh, Coventry University (United Kingdom)

Louise Maythorne, Bath Spa University (United Kingdom).  Louise is the Knowledge Exchange Manager at Bath Spa University, leading knowledge exchange with research across the institution.  Louise sits on a number of external research and KE organisations including the Knowledge Exchange Concordat Engagement Advisory Group and Guild HE Knowledge Exchange, Innovation and Place Network.  Louise obtained her PhD in Politics from the University of Edinburgh where she also completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sociology, both funded by the ESRC.   Her most recent publications are KE in an Age of Pandemic: navigating inequality (2020) and Knowledge Exchange as Impact (2019).

Alicen Nickson, Cranfield University (United Kingdom) Alicen has over 20 years’ experience in research management, spanning the research and innovation spectrum. She has worked a number of Universities, delivering and leading departmental and central level operations. She is passionate about enabling researchers to achieve their research goals and individuals to excel within strong research governance frameworks. Currently Director of Research and Innovation at Cranfield University, Alicen leads a central professional services office that works in partnership with colleagues from across the University, and external stakeholders, to deliver the University's strategic research ambitions. She is committed to development in the professional practice of research, and has contributed as a longer term Committee member of ARMA, is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Research Management and Administration, and is a non-Executive Director of Praxis-Auril.

SettingsJosé M. R. C. A. Santos, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (Portugal). José is a Research Manager and Assistant Researcher at the Bragança Polytechnic University. PhD (University of Leeds,), Chem. Eng. (University of Coimbra, Portugal), post-graduations in Professional Project Management and in Environmental Technology. Has been working on R&D project management since 2005, in both the private and public sectors. External expert (project proposals evaluation) for the European Commission, among other national and international R&D funding bodies. Participated in over 20 international and national research and innovation projects (coordinator of 10). Co-founder and Chair of the post-award Project Management Task Group at EARMA. His research interests comprise R&D, innovation and project management; professionals working at the interface of science; and Circular BioEconomy