The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) has received a welcome independent endorsement of the outstanding quality of its research.
The latest Times Higher Education analysis has ranked the ICR as the UK’s leading academic research centre.
The coveted objective ranking of the UK’s 132 higher education research centres was based on the most recent Higher Education Funding Council’s Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), conducted in 2008. The Times Higher Education tables, published in December 2008, are considered the authoritative interpretation of the data.
The seven-yearly independent peer review process measured the number and quality of the research articles published in leading scientific journals.
Research articles submitted by each higher education institution were given a star rating of one to four, with the ICR’s research receiving the highest percentage of “world leading” four star ratings .
The ICR also came top of the Biological Sciences (Unit of Assessment 14) by a considerable margin; and was ranked equal second with Cambridge University, in the Cancer Studies (Unit of Assessment 2) discipline.
The expert RAE panel noted that the many internationally significant papers included a substantial number of world-leading contributions. The distribution of quality levels indicated outstanding strength in each of the research areas.
The panel’s detailed evaluation of the ICR’s submission stated that the organisation had submitted a large number of papers that represented significant and internationally-recognised contributions to clinical and translational cancer research. The panel said that the groups described in the return were strong, and all were noted to be international leaders in their respective fields.
The ICR’s overall contribution to cancer research - both nationally and internationally - was noted by the panel as being of the highest level.
Professor Peter Rigby, Chief Executive of the ICR, says: “I am delighted by this external validation of the extremely high quality of our research. This is a great tribute to all of my colleagues who work so hard on behalf of cancer patients.”
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Media Contact: Science Press Office Jane Bunce or 0207 153 5106