Annex B: UoA descriptors and taxonomies – Main Panel A

Descriptor

UoA 1 (Clinical Medicine) encompasses medical research focused on the mechanistic understanding of human health and disease including discovery, pre-clinical research and experimental medicine to clinical trials and practical implementation. UoA 1 includes research across medical specialties and subspecialties whose primary focus is the improvement of human health. UoA 1 submissions should demonstrate coherent clinical relevance.

Broad research areas for determining representativeness of submissions

1. Cancer
2. Clinical Trials
3. Experimental Medicine
4. Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation
5. Interventional and Diagnostic Sciences
6. Life-Course and Developmental Medicine
7. Methodological and Translational Frameworks
8. Organ- and System-Based Research
9. Surgery
10. Other for the purpose of aggregation

Research specialism to inform allocation of outputs to assessors

1. Allergy
2. Anaesthesia and Intensive Care
3. Biostatistics and Epidemiology
4. Cancer and Oncology
5. Cardiovascular
6. Child Health (Paediatrics)
7. Clinical Genetics 
8. Clinical Pharmacology
9. Clinical Trials
10. Dermatology
11. Detection and Prevention of Disease
12. Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence
13. Endocrinology and Metabolism
14. Gastroenterology and Hepatology
15. Geriatric Medicine
16. Haematology
17. Immunology
18. Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology
19. MedTech and Devices  
20. Multi-omics
21. Nephrology
22. Neurology
23. Psychiatry
24. Ophthalmology
25. Palliative Care
26. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
27. Pre-clinical and Interventional Mechanistic Studies
28. Radiology and Imaging
29. Regenerative Medicine
30. Reproductive and Maternal Health
31. Respiratory
32. Rheumatology
33. Surgery
34. Vaccinology 
35. Trauma
36. Emergency medicine

Boundaries

Submitting units are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of the output type or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature, even if the research is at the boundaries of the UoA.

We would expect educational outputs specific to UoA 1 for example, research on clinical skill acquisition, to be returned to UoA 3, whereas outputs on general pedagogy, assessment and so on, would be returned to UoA 23.

Descriptor

The UoA includes research into all aspects of public and population health, health and care services and/or primary care and all their cognate disciplines. The research may be applied, theoretical or methodological research from relevant health or healthcare disciplines.

The sub-panel expects submissions in this UoA from all areas of public and population health and epidemiology (from aetiology to intervention), health and care services and primary care, including clinical trials, health social sciences, health policy research and healthcare management, and from other related disciplines having a relevance to the research covered by the UoA. It recognises the breadth and diverse range of single, multidisciplinary and/or multi-professional research across public health, health services and primary care.

Broad research areas for determining representativeness of submissions

1. Community care
2. Community services
3. Epidemiology
4. Health and care research methods
5. Healthcare management
6. Health policy
7. Health Services research
8. Population health
9. Primary care
10. Public health
11. Other for the purpose of aggregation

Research specialism to inform allocation of outputs to assessors

1. Assessment of health technologies
2. Clinical trials and evaluations
3. Co-production
4. Data science and AI
5. Demography
6. Disease burden
7. Disease prevention
8. Disease risk factors and aetiology
9. Disease surveillance and control
10. Emergency preparedness
11. Environment and health
12. Ethics
13. Evidence synthesis
14. Genetic and molecular population health
15. Global health
16. Healthcare public health
17. Health economics
18. Health equity
19. Health improvement
20. Health protection
21. Health security
22. Health social sciences
23. Implementation science
24. Intervention development
25. Law
26. Philosophy
27. Policy decision making
28. Psychology
29. Qualitative research
30. Social care
31. Sociology and anthropology

Boundaries

Submitting units are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of the form of output or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature, even if the research is at the boundaries of the UoA. 

It is recognised that research in this UoA has intersections with other disciplines, and there could be overlaps with any UoA, particularly the other UoAs within Main Panel A. These parts of submissions may be cross-referred, following advice from the cross-UoA members. In common with any cross-referred work Sub-panel 2 (as the sub-panel for the UoA in which the work was submitted for assessment) will retain responsibility for recommending the quality profile.

We would expect educational outputs specific to UoA 2 for example, research on clinical skill acquisition, to be returned to UoA 2, whereas outputs on general pedagogy, assessment and so on, would be returned to UoA 23.

Descriptor

UoA 3 includes all fields in the disciplines of allied health professions, dentistry, midwifery, nursing, and pharmacy, and the contexts within which they operate. It includes, but is not limited to, basic and applied research in clinical practice, healthcare technologies, healthcare workforce, health and social care, policy development and evaluation, theory, clinically-related education, and implementation science:

• allied health professions: including arts therapies, audiology, biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, dietetics, hearing aid dispensing, nutrition, occupational therapy, operating department practice, orthoptics, paramedic science, physiotherapy, podiatry, practitioner/clinical psychology, prosthetics/orthotics, radiography (diagnostic and therapeutic), speech and language therapy, and related disciplines, including but not limited to optometry, osteopathy and physician assistant/associate practice
• dentistry: dental, oral and craniofacial sciences encompassing all the related clinical disciplines, primary dental care, biomaterials sciences relevant to oral and craniofacial science, and other sciences relevant to dentistry
• midwifery: care for childbearing women, newborns, and families across the continuum from pre-pregnancy to postpartum
• nursing: general nursing (adult, children, mental health, and learning disability), community and public health nursing, and social care nursing
• pharmacy: the design, synthesis, formulation, action and use of pharmaceuticals (including biological and nutraceuticals), to include medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, clinical pharmacy, underlying biomedical science, and the practice of pharmacy

Broad research areas for determining representativeness of submissions

1. Allied health professions
2. Dentistry
3. Midwifery
4. Nursing
5. Pharmacy
6. Other for the purpose of aggregation

Research specialism to inform allocation of outputs to assessors

1. Anaesthesia
2. Anatomy and physiology
3. Arts Therapies
4. Audiology
5. Biochemistry
6. Bioengineering
7. Biomaterials
8. Biomedical Sciences
9. Biotechnology
10. Clinical Linguistics
11. Clinical and General Dentistry
12. Clinical Education
13. Clinical Psychology
14. Complementary Medicines and Therapies
15. Data Science and AI
16. Dental Technology 
17. Dietetics
18. Digital health
19. Genetics
20. Gerontology
21. Health and Social Care
22. Health Economics 
23. Health Services Research
24. Health Visiting
25. Health Technologies
26. Immunology
27. Implementation Science
28. Longterm conditions
29. Medicinal Chemistry
30. Medicines Use
31. Mental Health
32. Microbiology
33. Midwifery
34. Nursing
35. Nutrition
36. Occupational Health
37. Occupational Therapy
38. Operating Department Practice
39. Ophthalmology
40. Optometry
41. Orthoptics
42. Paramedic Science 
43. Pharmaceutics
44. Pharmacology
45. Pharmacy Practice
46. Physician Associate/Assistant Studies
47. Physiology
48. Physiotherapy
49. Podiatry
50. Public Health
51. Radiography
52. Rehabilitation
53. Speech and Language Therapy
54. Tissue Engineering

Boundaries

Submitting units are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of the output type or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature, even if the research is at the boundaries of the UoA. 

This will include research along the continuum from underpinning science, laboratory-based work, applied clinical and health services research, and implementation science. Research in public health, health promotion, social care, and behavioural science is included. Philosophical, ethical, as well as educational and methodological research relevant to the UoA’s disciplines are also included. It is anticipated that such work will use qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, as well as theoretical, participatory, and co-production approaches.

We would expect educational outputs specific to UoA 3 for example, research on clinical skill acquisition, to be returned to UoA 3, whereas outputs on general pedagogy, assessment etc, would be returned to UoA 23.

Descriptor

The sub-panel expects submissions in all areas of psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. Submissions are not required to span the full breadth of the UoA. The UoA covers applied and fundamental research in psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience.

For all domains, this includes research involving humans and animals across the lifespan, as well as theoretical, computational, artificial intelligence or data-focused approaches in these domains. Research relating to methods and technologies for psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience is also within scope.

This UoA covers all areas of psychological research including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method approaches to typical and atypical populations in all settings at the cultural, societal, group and individual levels, across the full range of areas of psychological enquiry.

It covers research on all aspects of mental health and mental ill health, mental illness and disorders, neurobehavior, and neurodiversity. This includes the aetiology, epidemiology, mechanisms and consequences of these, as well as pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, systems of care and mental health policy.

It also covers all aspects of neuroscience research from the molecular and cellular through to whole-system behavioural level, genetics, and varieties of imaging. This includes research on the understanding and treatment of all types of neurological and neurosurgical conditions, including those related to neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment.

Broad research areas for determining representativeness of submissions

1. Applied Psychology
2. Behavioural and cognitive neuroscience
3. Biological Psychology
4. Clinical neuroscience
5. Cognitive Psychology
6. Computational/theoretical neuroscience
7. Developmental Psychology
8. Individual Differences
9. Methods and Technologies for Psychology, Psychiatry, or Neuroscience
10. Molecular and cellular neuroscience
11. Psychiatry
12. Social Psychology
13. Systems neuroscience
14. Other for the purpose of aggregation

Research specialism to inform allocation of outputs to assessors

1. Animal behaviour
2. Applied Psychology
3. Behavioural and cognitive neuroscience
4. Biological Psychology
5. Child and adolescent psychiatry
6. Clinical neuroscience
7. Clinical Psychology
8. Coaching Psychology
9. Cognitive Psychology
10. Community Psychology
11. Computational/theoretical approaches to psychology, psychiatry or neuroscience
12. Counselling Psychology
13. Critical Psychology
14. Cross-cultural Psychology
15. Data resources or databases for psychology, psychiatry or neuroscience
16. Developmental neuroscience
17. Developmental Psychology
18. Educational Psychology
19. Environmental Psychology
20. Evolutionary Psychology
21. Forensic psychiatry
22. Forensic Psychology
23. General adult psychiatry
24. Health Psychology
25. Individual Differences
26. Intellectual disability
27. Laboratory neuroscience methods and technologies
28. Molecular and cellular neuroscience
29. Neurodiversity
30. Neuroimaging and neuroengineering methods and technologies
31. Neurology
32. Neuropathology
33. Neuropsychology
34. Neurosurgery
35. Occupational Psychology
36. Old age psychiatry
37. Organisational Psychology
38. Other neuroscience
39. Other Psychiatry
40. Other Psychology
41. Paediatric neurology
42. Perception and action
43. Political Psychology
44. Psycholinguistics
45. Psychopharmacology
46. Psychotherapy
47. Qualitative Psychology
48. Social Psychology
49. Software resources for psychology, psychiatry or neuroscience
50. Sport And Exercise Psychology
51. Statistics, modelling, and data science methods for psychology, psychiatry or neuroscience
52. Systems neuroscience

Boundaries

Submitting units are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of the output type or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature, even if the research is at the boundaries of the UoA. 

The remit of the sub-panel is broad, covering submissions with the potential to transform research into practice as well as those reporting fundamental research and those reporting theoretical and methodological advances that underpin psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience.

We would expect pedagogical outputs specific to the UoA for example, research on acquisition of skills related to psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience, to be returned to UoA 4, whereas outputs on general pedagogy, assessment etc, would be returned to UoA 23.  

Descriptor

The UoA includes research into all aspects of biological sciences that encompasses the full spectrum of the fundamental and applied biology of all organisms (animal, plant and microbial), at all levels of organisation from the molecular, to systems, to global, employing a diversity of approaches including experimental, theoretical, computational and mathematical. It includes work relevant to integrated physiological systems, such as, but not limited to, cardiovascular, immune, nervous and respiratory systems at all levels of enquiry and their equivalents across diverse biological organisms. The UoA further includes biomedical science research that underpins clinical medicine and other healthcare allied disciplines, including biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology and anatomy at the genetic, molecular, cellular, organ system and whole organism level.

Broad research areas for determining representativeness of submissions

1. Animal Biology
2. Biochemistry and Structural Biology
3. Biomedical Sciences
4. Biotechnology and Applied Biosciences
5. Cell Biology
6. Computational and Systems Biology
7. Developmental Biology
8. Ecology
9. Evolutionary Biology
10. Genetics and Genomics
11. Life Sciences
12. Microbiology and Virology
13. Molecular Biology
14. Physiological Sciences
15. Plant Biology
16. Other for the purpose of aggregation

 Research specialism to inform allocation of outputs to assessors 

1. Animal Physiology 
2. Animal Sciences
3. Applied Microbiology 
4. Aquaculture 
5. Bacteriology 
6. Behavioural Biology
7. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology 
8. Bioinformatics and Computational Biochemistry
9. Biomechanics
10. Biometry and Biostatistics 
11. Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
12. Cell Biology 
13. Computational Biology 
14. Conservation Biology 
15. Developmental Biology 
16. Ecology 
17. Ecosystems
18. Engineering Biology
19. Environmental Omics
20. Environmental Microbiology 
21. Epidemiology
22. Evolutionary Biology 
23. Genetic Engineering
24. Genetics 
25. Global Change Biology
26. Immunology 
27. Marine and Aquatic Biology 
28. Microbial Physiology 
29. Microbiology 
30. Molecular Biology 
31. Molecular Genetics 
32. Mycology 
33. Neuroscience 
34. Omics and Multiomics 
35. Parasitology 
36. Pathology 
37. Pharmacology and Drug Design
38. Plant Physiology 
39. Plant Sciences
40. Population Biology 
41. Population Genetics 
42. Quantitative Biology
43. Reproductive Biology 
44. Soil Ecology 
45. Structural Biology and Biophysics 
46. Systems Biology 
47. Toxicology 
48. Virology 
49. Wildlife and Pest Management  

Boundaries

Submitting units are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of the output type or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature, even if the research is at the boundaries of the UoA.  

The sub-panel expects submissions from all areas of biological sciences and that the research activity submitted will have made a direct contribution to the UoA as characterised in the UoA descriptor. UoA 5 recognises and welcomes the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of research in biological science and expects that submissions may contain outputs that not only make contributions to this UoA but also to UoAs that extend beyond traditional biological science disciplines. 

We would expect educational outputs specific to the UoA for example, research on biosciences skills acquisition, to be returned to UoA 5, whereas outputs on general pedagogy, assessment etc, would be returned to UoA 23.

Descriptor

The UoA includes research into all aspects of the agricultural, food and veterinary sciences, including basic through to applied research, and interdisciplinary research and innovation, including social sciences, systems-based and One Health approaches, with significant content in any of these areas. It includes, but is not limited to, quantitative and qualitative research carried out in:

• Agriculture:submissions may include research into all aspects of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, aquaculture and marine systems, including the disciplines underpinning and impacted by them, and the emerging technologies that support these industries.  This includes economic, environmental, ecological and social research into defining optimal systems of land and water use, the development of the bio-economy and integrated approaches to farming.
• Food systems: submissions may include all aspects of food systems research. These include studies ranging from basic underpinning research including clinical and social sciences through to applied research. Submissions may include research relevant to food science and technology, human nutrition, food biotechnology, food safety, integrity and authenticity, packaging, sensory and consumer behaviour, food supply chains, and food security, sustainability and environmental aspects.
• Veterinary science: submissions may include research related to veterinary biosciences, medicine and surgery.  These include studies ranging from basic underpinning research including clinical and social sciences through to applied research. Submissions may include research relevant to normal and abnormal function of animals, their health, welfare, nutrition, productivity, ethology, animal management, One Health approaches, zoonotic diseases and their ecology, and population medicine. The role of animals in human health, environment and society, or as models for human diseases is also included.

Broad research areas for determining representativeness of submissions

UoA 6 includes all fields in the disciplines:

1. Agriculture
2. Food Systems
3. Veterinary Science
4. Other for the purpose of aggregation

Research specialism to inform allocation of outputs to assessors

1. Agricultural Engineering
2. Agricultural Geology
3. Agricultural Technology
4. Animal Health
5. Animal Management, Husbandry and Nutrition
6. Agrifood, systems and futures
7. Animal Physiology
8. Aquaculture
9. Aquatic Biology
10. Baking and Milling
11. Biochemistry
12. Biodiversity
13. Biogeography
14. Biotechnology
15. Bio-inspired innovation
16. Breeding Technologies
17. Brewing
18. Chemistry as applied to the Unit
19. Climate change adaptation and mitigation (land, nature and food)
20. Countryside Management
21. Crop Sciences, plant sciences and botany
22. Digital approaches as applied to the Unit
23. Economics as applied to the Unit
24. Entomology
25. Environmental economics
26. Environmental Sciences
27. Epidemiology
28. Equine Studies
29. Evolutionary biology
30. Farm Management
31. Fisheries
32. Food and beverage manufacturing and processing
33. Food Marketing
34. Food Safety, authenticity, integrity
35. Food Science
36. Food Supply chain economics and logistics
37. Forestry and Arboriculture
38. Genetics and genomics
39. Human and Physical Geography as applied to the Unit
40. Health economics
41. Horticulture
42. Human nutrition and dietetics
43. Land Management
44. Life Cycle Analysis (as related to agrifood)
45. One Health
46. Marine Sciences
47. Microbiology and Virology
48. Molecular and cell biology
49. Mycology
50. Parasitology
51. Pest and Disease Management
52. Population Ecology
53. Pre-Clinical Veterinary Medicine
54. Psychology as applied to the Unit
55. Rural sociology
56. Social sciences as applied to the Unit
57. Soil biogeochemistry
58. Soil Science
59. Structural biology
60. Sustainable Agriculture and Landscape Development
61. Veterinary Dentistry
62. Veterinary Education
63. Veterinary Medicine
64. Veterinary Nursing
65. Veterinary Pathology and Pathophysiology
66. Veterinary Pharmacology and Pharmacy
67. Veterinary Public Health
68. Veterinary Surgery
69. Water Resource Management
70. Zoology
71. Zoonoses

Boundaries

Submitting units are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of the output type or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature, even if the research is at the boundaries of the UoA.

The scope of this UoA is expected to overlap with all units in Main Panel A, as well as with UoAs across other Main Panels, reflecting the systems and interdisciplinary programmes we expect to be represented in submissions to this panel.

We would expect educational outputs specific to the UoA for example, research on clinical skill acquisition and veterinary anatomy, to be returned to UoA 6, whereas outputs on general pedagogy, assessment etc, would be returned to UoA 23.

In common with any cross-referred work Sub-panel 6 (as the sub-panel for the UoA in which the work was submitted for assessment) will retain responsibility for recommending the quality profile.