Research and innovation
Virtual reality - the risks and opportunities of a technology revolution.
Many of the world’s challenges are systematic in their nature. Tackling these challenges demands collaboration, a whole systems approach and innovations that generate fundamental and applied research. At Leeds, we are making major investments in our people, facilities and capabilities.
Tackling global challenges
We conduct interdisciplinary and impact-orientated research to address challenges at regional, national and global levels. To achieve this our research is user-led and solutions focused, driven by the needs of our partners and stakeholders. Leeds is committed to working across disciplines to help tackle global challenges in areas including:
Expertise in resilient infrastructure, sustainable cities and building sustainable societies is being applied to challenges including social justice and economic sustainability.
Read about our cities research
Climate change and its impact on society and ecosystems is a grand challenge at a global scale, demanding solutions developed by a community of researchers who work together across a range of disciplines.
Read about our climate change research
Culture is at the heart of exciting plans to galvanise the University's contribution to the city and region - as well as nationally and internationally - creating a wide range of collaborative opportunities for staff, students and partners.
Read about our culture research
The Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA) is developing data analytics as a transformative technology and playing a crucial role where research, education and industry meet.
Read about our data analytics research
Energy Leeds brings together researchers to tackle one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century - maintaining clean, secure and affordable supplies as part of a sustainable energy future.
Read about our energy research
Leeds has a track record of food and nutrition research which has influenced policy, supported industry on R&D and innovation on issues from sustenance to sustainability.
Read about our food research
At Leeds, we aim to improve human health through nurturing interdisciplinary research collaborations in areas which can have the greatest impact.
Read about our global health research
We are working to understand and influence social change across the world. From modernising policing methods in the UK to keeping girls in school in Uganda, we aim for research which has an impact.
Read about our social change research
We are aiming to use structural biology to solve major issues from curing the common cold to developing new antibiotics. The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology brings together researchers from physics, the biological sciences and chemistry to understand the molecular basis of life.
Read about our structural biology research
Leeds is home to the largest interdisciplinary water research centre of its kind in the world.
Read about our water research
News
Flood frequency of the world’s largest river has increased fivefold
Sugar in yogurt leaves a sour taste
And the Leeds International Piano Competition winner is…
Viruses show new promise in treating cancer
Leeds shares massive R&D boost for UK’s creative industries
Improving Leeds care homes through research
Jet-air dryers should not be used in hospital toilets
Facilities
We continue to invest in our facilities. These range from the core tools needed to support cutting edge research through to highly specialised equipment, such as our driving simulator, electron beam lithography system and national robotics capability.
Spotlight
How could we use microbubbles to fight cancer?
You could fit ten thousand microbubbles into a single full stop. But now a team of researchers at Leeds is hoping to use these tiny bubbles as a drug delivery device to treat cancer and other serious diseases. Read More
Search our faculties
Search more of our research areas through our faculties listing.
Visit the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures website
Executive Dean - Professor Frank Finlay
Deputy Dean - Professor Luke Windsor
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Dr Simon Baines
Deputy Pro-Dean for Student Education - Dr Melanie Prideaux
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Philip Mellor
Pro-Dean for International - Professor Manuel Barcia Paz
Leeds Humanities Research Institute - Professor Alison Fell and Deputy Director Professor Sita Popat
Director of Postgraduate Research Studies - Dr Michael Spencer
Faculty office (3 Cavendish Road) - 0113 3432687
Schools of study
- School of Design - Professor Chris Carr
- School of English - Dr Fiona Becket
- School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies - Professor Abigail Harrison-Moore
- School of History - Professor Andrea Major
- Institute for Medieval Studies – Professor Emilia Jamroziak
- Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied - Dr Jamie Dow
- School of Languages, Cultures and Societies - Professor Matthew Treherne
- School of Media and Communication - Dr Kate Nash
- School of Music - Dr Karen Burland Clark
- School of Performance and Cultural Industries - Professor Alice O'Grady
- School of Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science - Professor Graeme Gooday
Visit the Faculty of Biological Sciences website
Executive Dean of Faculty - Professor John Ladbury
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Dr Kenneth McDowall
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Brendan Davies
Pro-Dean: International - Professor Jim Deuchars
Faculty office - 0113 343 5647
Undergraduate Admissions Enquiries: +44(0) 113 343 3021
Undergraduate Office enquiries for current students: +44 (0)113 343 8236
Postgraduates see Graduate School contact page
- School of Biology - Professor Ian Hope
- School of Biomedical Sciences - Professor Karen Birch
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology - Professor Richard Bayliss
- Faculty Director of Taught Student Education - Dr Aysha Divan
- Director of Biological Sciences Graduate School - Professor Alan Berry
Centres
- Antimicrobial Research Centre
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology
- Biological Sciences in LIGHT
- Biomedical and Health Research Centre
- Centre for Plant Sciences
- Multidisciplinary Cardiovascular Research Centre
- Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (Joint with the Faculty of Engineering)
- WELMEC Centre of Excellence in Medical Engineering
Visit the Faculty of Business website
Head of LUBS and Executive Dean of Faculty - Professor Peter Moizer
Interim Deputy Dean - Professor Nick Scott
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Nick Scott
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Timothy Devinney
Pro-Dean for International - Professor Iain Clacher
Faculty office - 0113 343 6321
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Divisions
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Centres/Research Clusters
- Adaptation, Information Management, Technology (AIMTech)
- Applied Institute of Research in Economics (AIRE)
- Business Confucius Institute at the University of Leeds (BCI)
- Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance (CASIF)
- Centre for Decision Research (CDR)
- Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC)
- Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies (CEES)
- Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds (CIBUL)
- Centre for Operations and Supply Chain Research (COSCR)
- Centre for Technology, Innovation and Engagement (C-Tie)
- Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC)
- Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC)
- Global and Strategic Marketing Research Centre (GLOSMARC)
- Institute for Banking and Investment (IBI)
- Socio-Technical Centre (STC)
- Workplace Behaviour Research Centre (WBRC)
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Research Degree Programmes – Dr Dan Coffey
Visit the Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law website
Executive Dean - Professor Jeremy Higham
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Dr Simon Lightfoot
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Anthea Hucklesby
Pro-Dean for International - Professor Norma Martin-Clement
Enquiries
- School of Education - 0113 343 4535
- School of Law - 0113 343 5033
- School of Politics and International Studies - 0113 343 6663
- School of Sociology and Social Policy - 0113 343 7938
Faculty office - 0113 343 7428
- School of Education - Professor Alice Deignan
- School of Law - Professor Alastair Mullis
- School of Politics and International Studies - Professor Jason Ralph
- School of Sociology and Social Policy - Professor S. Sayyid
- Graduate School
Centres and institutes
- The Bauman Institute
- Leeds University Centre for African Studies
- Centre for Business Law and Practice
- Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
- Centre for Global Development
- Centre for Disability Studies
- Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies
- Centre for Family, Kinship and Childhood
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies
- Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE)
- Centre for Language Education Research
- Leeds Social Sciences Institute
- Centre for Policy Studies in Education
- Centre for Studies in Science and Mathematics Education
- N8 Policing Research Partnership
Visit the Faculty of Engineering website
Executive Dean - Professor Peter Jimack
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Professor Martin Levesley
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Giles Davies
Pro-Dean for International - Dr Raul Fuentes
Director of Engineering Graduate School - Professor Richard Hall
Faculty Services enquiries - 0113 343 8461
School of Civil Engineering - Professor Muhammed Basheer
- Energy and Sustainable Buildings
- Cities and Infrastructure
- Water, Public Health and Environmental Engineering
- Materials and Structures
School of Computing - Dr Andy Bulpitt
- Artificial Intelligence
- Applied Computing in Biology, Medicine and Health
- Algorithms and Complexity
- Distributed Systems and Services
- Computational Science and Engineering
School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering - Professor Robert Kelsall
School of Mechanical Engineering - Professor Harvey Thompson
- Institute of Design, Robotics and Optimisation
- Institute of Functional Surfaces
- Institute of Thermofluids
- Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (Joint with the Faculty of Biological Sciences)
School of Chemical and Process Engineering - Professor Elaine Martin
- Low carbon energy
- Industrial biotechnology
- Clean combustion
- Complex systems and processes
- Functional materials, products and devices
- Applied photon science
- Waste management and resource recovery
Multidisciplinary centres and institutes
- Robotics at Leeds
- Centre for Integrated Petroleum Engineering and Geoscience
- Centre for Integrated Energy Research
- Institute of Process Research & Development (iPRD)
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Research in Music
- WELMEC Centre of Excellence in Medical Engineering
Other centres and institutes
Biomedical and Health Research CentreVisit the Faculty of Environment website
Executive Dean - Professor Andy Dougill
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Dr Anne Tallontire
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Joseph Holden
Pro-Dean for International - Dr Bill Murphy
Dean's office - 0113 343 1941
School of Earth and Environment - Professor Simon Bottrell
- Earth Surface Science Institute
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science
- Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics
- Sustainability Research Institute
- Institute of Applied Geoscience
School of Geography - Robert Vanderbeck
- Centre for Spatial Analysis and Policy (CSAP)
- Cities and Social Justice
- Citizenship and Belonging
- Ecology and Global Change
- River Basin Processes and Management
Institute for Transport Studies - Professor Richard Batley
Cross-campus research institutes hosted by the Faculty of Environment
Visit the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences website
Executive Dean - Professor Stephen Scott
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Professor Paul Taylor
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Dr Oliver Harlen
Pro-Dean for International - Dr Rob Sturman
Faculty office - 0113 343 6492
Visit the Faculty of Medicine and Health website
Executive Dean - Professor Paul Stewart
PA to Faculty Dean - 0113 343 3264
Deputy Dean of the Faculty - Professor Andrea Nelson
Pro-Dean for Student Education - Professor Mitch Waterman
Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation - Professor Rory O'Connor
Pro-Dean for International - Professor Linda McGowan
- Faculty Graduate School
- School of Dentistry - Professor Jennifer Kirkham (Dean)
- School of Healthcare - Dr Janet Hirst
- School of Medicine - Professor Mark Kearney (Dean)
- Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine - Professor David Beech
- Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS)- Professor Laura Stroud
- Leeds Institute of Medical Education - Professor Trudie Roberts
- Leeds Institute of Biomedical & Clinical Sciences (LIBACS) - Professor Pam Jones
- Leeds Institute of Clinical Trials Research (LICTR) - Professor Julia Brown
- Leeds Institute of Cancer & Pathology (LICAP) - Professor Tim Bishop
- Leeds Institute of Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Medicine (LIRMM) - Professor Philip Conaghan
- School of Psychology - Dr Peter Gardner
Centres and institutes
- ALPS CETL
- Biomedical Health Research Centre
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Centre for Innovation in Health Management
- Centre for Medical Imaging Research
- Department for NHS Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (Yorkshire Deanery)
- ICON-Health
- LIGHT Data Management Group
- Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit
- Multidisciplinary Cardiovascular Research Centre
- WELMEC Centre of Excellence in Medical Engineering