Dr Sarah Gretton

Natural Sciences Programme Director and Senior Admissions Tutor

School/Department: Biological Sciences, School of

Profile

After graduating with a BSc Hons in Medical Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh, Sarah Gretton worked on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV at the Centre for Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh, before embarking on a PhD studying the cellular biology of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) at the MRC Virology Unit at the University of Glasgow. Upon completion of the PhD Dr Gretton continued working on HCV as a research fellow at the University of Leeds.

Dr Gretton worked as a sessional lecturer in Biological Sciences at Nottingham Trent University during the 2009-10 academic year, before joining the Genetic Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (GENIE) and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Leicester in 2010, teaching on the natural sciences and biological sciences programmes but also working on a number of educational projects.

Dr Gretton was appointed director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science in June 2015, and also took on the role of institutional lead of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the same year.

In 2017 Dr Gretton was appointed as programme director of the newly launched Natural Sciences (Life and Physical Sciences) programme, and from 2019-2021 was director of taught postgraduate programmes for the College of Life Sciences.

Dr Gretton is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), led the natural sciences team in their successful UK Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence 2017, and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2021.

Research

Dr Gretton’s current research interests include:

Education for Sustainable Development
Skills development, particularly related to employability and research or problem-based learning.
Interdisciplinary science education.

Publications

A full list of Dr Sarah Gretton’s publications (including co-author papers) can be found on Google Scholar

Supervision

Education for Sustainable Development
Student skills development and employability
Research/ Problem-based Learning
Interdisciplinary science education.

Teaching

Dr Gretton teaches biology and skills sessions on all four years of the natural sciences undergraduate degree programme, and virology to first year and MSc biological sciences students.

Press and media

Science Education

Activities

Dr Gretton is a member of the organising committee for the Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference and a member of the Society for Natural Science national committee, chairing the Society for Natural Sciences Scholarship of Teaching and Learning group.

Awards

Dr Sarah Gretton has received the following teaching awards:

Finalist, Green Gown Award (Courses), 2012
University Distinguished Teaching Fellowship, 2014
Finalist, UK Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence, 2016
Finalist, Higher Education Bioscience Teacher of the Year, 2017
Winner, UK Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence, 2017
Finalist, Green Gown Awards (Sustainability Champion), 2017
Winner, University of Leicester Discovering Excellence Teaching Award, 2017
National Teaching Fellowship, 2021

Qualifications

Dr Sarah Gretton holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Professional Practice (PGCAPP, Distinction) and a Senior Fellowship of Advance HE.