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Professor Pete Clifton

Professor Pete Clifton is to head the new School of Psychology, which replaces the existing Department of Psychology.

Professor Clifton is currently Professor of Psychology at Sussex and Head of the Department of Psychology, a post he has held since 2008.

A Sussex graduate twice over, with a BSc in Biology and a DPhil in Ethology (the scientific study of animal behaviour), Professor Clifton followed his doctorate with a research fellowship in Ethology at Sussex.

He was appointed as a Lecturer at Sussex in 1984, becoming Senior Lecturer and then Reader in Physiological Psychology before being promoted to Professor of Psychology in 2007.

Professor Clifton's current research concerns eating behaviour: what makes people want to eat, and how the mind influences what they eat. "This problem has considerable applied interest because of the increase in obesity in North America and Europe," explains Professor Clifton.

Research in Professor Clifton's behavioural neuroscience laboratory has been supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC), as well as a number of pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline.

A member of the Research Board of the British Psychological Society, Professor Clifton is also the author of more than 80 papers and book chapters, as well as two books.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, chaired the appointment panel. He said: "Professor Clifton was appointed against international competition and was clearly the outstanding candidate for the post. 

"Not only does he have an excellent research record, Professor Clifton has also played a key role in academic developments at Sussex, including the successful restructuring and simplification of undergraduate Psychology programmes.

"As Head of Psychology he has also been leading colleagues in work to prepare for the department's transition to an independent school and to focus it on the University's goals in research and in teaching and learning."

Professor Clifton has been appointed as Head of School designate with immediate effect, taking up the new role fully on 1 August.

He said: "The creation of the new school will have significant advantages for Sussex psychology. It will raise our national profile, allow a much clearer alignment with University goals, and provide a management structure that will remove areas of duplication at the existing school level."