Search results
Found 12707 matches for
DPhil Student Brianna Stubbs and her team mates finished top of the medal table at the Senior World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
MRC/BHF Centre of Research Excellence in Advanced Cardiac Therapies (REACT) funded DPhil studentship.
We are excited to recruit a highly motivated and excited PhD Student as part of the MRC-BHF Centre in Advanced Cardiac Therapies (REACT). Established in 2025, REACT aims to develop novel therapeutic approaches to regenerate the injured heart and reverse established heart failure. This new Centre brings together world-leading scientists and clinicians from King's College London and the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh, combined with other academic partners and biotech and pharmaceutical industry representatives, to develop new medicines and deliver them to the injured or failing heart. The Centre will widely disseminate its progress and key findings to the public and patients and is firmly committed to training, career development and promoting early career researchers. Project details: Despite advancements in survival rates for myocardial infarction (MI), the permanent loss of cardiomyocytes in surviving patients frequently results in progression to heart failure. The extent of cardiomyocyte death post-MI may be attenuated by a coordinated angiogenic response to salvage vulnerable cardiomyocytes. Unlike the endothelium of other organs, the cardiac endothelium demonstrates remarkably poor angiogenic potential in an ischaemic environment. Crucially, studies in adult mice and pigs in which cardiomyocyte proliferation is activated via gene therapy strategies have observed an enhanced neovasculogenic response. The origin of these newly formed vessels and the factors promoting this response remain unknown. In this project, we will combine lineage tracing mouse models with single cell omics and spatial transcriptomics to identify the cellular origin and transcriptional prolife of newly forming coronary endothelial cells in response to adult cardiomyocyte proliferation. Identified cardiomyocyte derived factors from in vivo studies will subsequently be fed into human induced pluripotent stem cell-based models of coronary vessel formation for functional validation. Selected candidates will then be prioritised for follow-up assessment in an adult mouse MI model using a translationally relevant gene therapy approach. Location: The student will be based at the Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine (IDRM), Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, University of Oxford. A world leading institute in regenerative medicine and vascular biology. Supervision: The student will be primarily supervised by Dr Ian McCracken, a BHF Immediate Fellow at the IDRM focusing on vascular development and regeneration. Start date: The student will commence their studies in Autumn 2025 as part of the Oxford MRC Doctoral Training Partnership. How to apply Please send all enquiries to Dr Ian McCracken (ian.mccracken@dpag.ox.ac.uk)
Outreach: How Science Week's 2025 theme made me reflect on how I talk about science (by Dr Katherine Brimblecombe)
Science week 2025 theme: Change and adapt
Body Donation
In order to continue to provide world-class education and training for our medical students, we rely on generous and public-spirited people who would like their bodies to be of use after their death. Bodies donated to Oxford are a vital resource for teaching students about the structure and function of the human body, for training healthcare professionals and for developing innovative medical and surgical techniques.
Molly Stevens - Next-Generation mRNA Vaccines: Safer Delivery with Biodegradable Polymers
This project focuses on advancing mRNA vaccine delivery by exploring biodegradable polymers as an alternative to traditional lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). While LNPs, used in vaccines like Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, are effective for delivering mRNA into cells, their full immune impact is not yet well understood, potentially leading to adverse effects. Biodegradable polymers, on the other hand, offer greater safety and efficiency due to their ability to be easily cleared from the body and their customizable properties for improved delivery. The project aims to develop lipid-like polymeric nanoparticles (lipidoids) that combine the benefits of both polymer and lipid systems. By synthesizing and testing a wide range of nanoparticle formulations, the goal is to identify new polylipidoid particles that outperform current LNP technology in delivering mRNA to the immune cells in the skin. Success in this research could lead to the development of more effective and safer vaccines, offering better immune responses with fewer side effects. The findings will be important for combating infectious diseases and enhancing the future of vaccine technology.
Molly Stevens - Developing next-generation biosensing technologies
Point-of-care (PoC) testing is vital for managing disease outbreaks and improving healthcare access, especially in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) where disease prevalence is high and resources are scarce. Traditional molecular diagnostics, such as PCR, require specialized equipment and skilled personnel, making them impractical for PoC settings in resource-limited areas. This project aims to advance PoC diagnostics by integrating platinum nanocatalysts (Pt@Au) into paper-based lateral flow assays (LFAs). These enhanced LFAs offer superior detection limits compared to conventional tests and provide colorimetric results that minimize user error. Additionally, they can incorporate a barcode-style system for multiplexed detection, enabling differential diagnosis across multiple diseases. The project focuses on developing next-generation multiplexed LFAs that can detect both nucleic acids and proteins simultaneously with high sensitivity. By enabling the simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers in a single test, this project seeks to improve disease management and public health outcomes in LMICs, offering a practical and effective tool for comprehensive diagnostics in challenging settings.
Molly Stevens - Guiding Brain Organoids: Advanced Scaffolds for Neural Growth
The human brain and its function are one of the big mysteries of humankind. Many strategies are helping to gain a fundamental understanding of the development and function of the central nervous system: imaging of the human brain, post-mortem analysis, animal models, and – since only a few years – advanced three-dimensional neural structures which reassemble aspects of the human brain, called brain organoids. Brain organoids have been used to model brain development, diseases and neural circuit formation and function. However, to date the lack of directional control over neurogenesis, as well as the limited capability to support larger tissue structures with sufficient nutrition, limit the potential of these human stem cell derived tissues. In this project we aim to develop a scaffold to support directional neurogenesis and perfusion of large brain organoids. The student will learn a range of methodologies, which will include (but are not limited to) stem cell culture, neural differentiation, 3D printing, confocal microscopy and live imaging. Furthermore, the student will be involved in the fabrication and functionalisation of biomaterials.
Ana Domingos - Fundamental biological mechanisms in Sympathetic Neurocircuitry underlying body weight
Effective obesity management medications that elevate energy expenditure, such as brain-acting sympathomimetics, lead to descending widespread sympathetic activity that raises the heart rate1. These adverse cardiovascular side effects have repeatedly resulted in their market withdrawal or rejection by regulatory agencies despite their potency in reducing body weight. Consequently, treatment options have been limited to suppressing appetite, for instance, with Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mimetic drugs, which lead to a compensatory decrease in energy expenditure, increasing the risk of recurrent weight gain2,3. While reducing food intake is crucial for treating obesity, sustaining a higher energy expenditure is necessary for therapies to be durable. This could be achieved by directly manipulating subpopulation of sympathetic neurons as they release factors within metabolic tissues that trigger anti-obesity actions beyond appetite control4–6, and without cardiac side effects1,7.
Pawel Swietach - Novel insights into tumour acidosis and hypoxia from analyses of mutations, phenotypes and blood oxygen transport
“Novel insights into tumour acidosis and hypoxia from analyses of mutations, phenotypes and blood oxygen transport” DPAG Supervisor: Pawel Swietach
Mootaz Salman - Neuroscience - 'Advanced 3D brain-on-a-chip platforms to study molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration'
The brain microenvironment is tightly regulated by the blood–brain barrier (BBB) which maintains the central nervous system internal milieu. BBB leakage following neuroinflammation (or systemic inflammation) has recently been described early in the occurrence and development of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's, and cerebral small vessel disease. Dynamic 3D models of the BBB represent a major advance on traditional static 2D models allowing cells to be in a physiologically realistic native-like 3D environment that faithfully recapitulate the complexity of an in vivo system without artificial support membranes. We seek highly motivated DPhil students with either a scientific or medical background to join our group to work on the molecular mechanisms of BBB (dys)function in neurodegeneration. In this project, you will combine the use of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) together with novel brain-on-a-chip platforms, advanced microscopy, microfluidics, and molecular assays. This project will advance our ability to understand how does inflammation-mediated BBB dysfunction lead to the development of neurodegeneration and dementia. It will establish a framework to address fundamental questions about the role of the BBB in health and neurodegeneration.
Black History Month 2023 - Saluting Our Sisters: Mary Logan Reddick
Mary Logan Reddick (31 December 1914 - 1 October 1966)
Black History Month 2023 - Saluting Our Sisters: Marie Daly
Marie Daly (April 16th, 1921 – October 28th, 2003)
Black History Month 2023 - Saluting Our Sisters: Dolores Cooper Shockley
Dolores Cooper Shockley (21 April 1930-10 October 2020)
Damian Tyler - Cardiac Sciences / Metabolism & Endocrinology - 'Assessment of Cardiac Metabolism Using Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Imaging'
The role of abnormal cardiac substrate metabolism in the development of many cardiovascular diseases and the therapeutic potential of interventions targeting cardiac substrate metabolism are unclear. Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) have long been used to monitor cardiac structure and function. However, the application of MRI/MRS for metabolic imaging has been limited by an intrinsically low sensitivity. Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance (hp-MR) is a new technique that yields greater than 10,000-fold signal increases in MR images and enables unprecedented real-time visualization of the biochemical mechanisms of abnormal metabolism. This allows measurement of instantaneous rates of substrate uptake and enzymatic transformation in vivo, providing a sensitive assessment of disease and a new means to monitor treatment response. This project will explore the application of hp-MR in the study of cardiovascular disease, enabling the assessment of pyruvate metabolism through the key metabolic enzyme, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and how it can be modulated as a therapeutic target.