"Ideally, I'd like to achieve this within five years," says Professor Hooper. "There's  lots of work to do, but in some areas we're already there, we just need to look at how to extend best practice throughout the faculty. FBS is a very broad faculty - running from ecology to zoology, and biomolecular sciences to sports and exercise science - so we have to examine what's important, what the challenges are and what actions and activities are appropriate for the students, academics and support staff in each area.

"There are four strategic areas that we're concentrating on, which all dovetail with the University's overall strategy. Firstly, building on existing good practice and working in partnership with students, we'll deliver an excellent student experience. We have dedicated staff who champion innovative teaching methods, so we'll see how to use their ideas in other areas. We also want to address some student measures where our results are patchy, for example, feedback. We also want to listen to students and engage them with our programme meetings; for example, in this technology-driven age, there are different ways of learning that are valued by our students.

"Secondly, we want to establish an international reputation for our research, building on areas of strength and investing in their development. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) will show our strengths and where we've got things right and, of course, we'll do our best in it but our overall strategy goes beyond 2014.  The REF is just one stage in the process of us achieving the research excellence that I believe we can attain.

"Thirdly, we're seeking to identify our academic leaders of the future, working with colleagues to identify potential, mentor them and help develop their skills.  We're looking at where we can invest to develop more strategically, especially around some of our research areas. We have some key strengths - such as tissue engineering, plant sciences, structural biology and neurosciences - and we need to build on these.

"The fourth area will see more responsibility and accountability being devolved to the academic staff and management teams in the three institutes within FBS. This will have to be in the context of the overall University and faculty strategy, but engaging people in decision-making processes will improve communication and enable them to address specific problems."

A Leeds alumnus, Professor Hooper graduated in Biochemistry and completed his PhD in the then Department of Biochemistry. After gaining a fellowship from the Royal Society he became a lecturer, and went on to be Head of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation. His main research area is Alzheimer's and related neurodegenerative diseases, trying to understand the disease processes at the molecular and cellular level.