Your immune system is the body’s defence mechanism against disease. But have you ever considered what the immune system…
I was first inspired about the application of reproductive technology for conservation at the University of Aberdeen when one…
I am actively involved in the Rhino Fertility Project led by Professor Suzannah Williams. We focus on developing novel…
My educational journey began in Turkey with a bachelor’s degree with honours in Biology, followed by an MSc in…
As an immunologist, I’m interested in understanding how people’s immune systems respond to vaccines and how we can use…
I am interested in families. My work is fairly interdisciplinary, meeting somewhere between biological anthropology, demography, and health. From an evolutionary point of view, it is interesting to try and understand how people make decisions about having children and how these decisions play out in reality. I also teach Evolutionary Medicine and have a seminar series on this, with talks available to watch on my YouTube channel (@oxfordevolutionarymedicine). Find out more about me on my website. Research paper: Fertility Decision-Making in the UK: Insights from a Qualitative Study among British Men and Women.
My research aims to improve the lives of individuals at risk of lifelong diseases from infectious causes, focusing on the parasitic flatworm that causes a complex set of conditions called schistosomiasis. I lead the SchistoTrack Research Group where we bring together diverse expertise across parasitology, clinical and social epidemiology, statistical modelling, and machine learning. Schistosomiasis is a disease of poverty that is dependent on complex interactions between human behaviour, access to adequate health care, the environment, and individual biological and social characteristics. Before coming to Oxford, I was a Junior Research Fellow in Medical Sciences at Kings College within the…
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that is estimated to affect 250 million people worldwide. The transmission of the disease is dependent on complex interactions between human behaviour, access to adequate health care, environmental factors (such as access to clean water), and individual biological and social characteristics of people in at risk communities. Goylette Chami from the SchistoTrack Research Group takes us to Uganda to see how a diverse team of researchers are using their expertise in parasitology, clinical and social epidemiology, statistical modelling, and machine learning to try to tackle the disease. Importantly, the team works with local communities and…
“I’m a scientist and I study cancer. But sometimes I go for a wander”. Richard White, from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, is a cancer biologist searching for a cure in the unlikeliest of places. While scientists traditionally try to find solutions to improve patient care in the lab, is there value in taking a more circuitous route to find innovative solutions to treat diseases like cancer? Join us on a journey of scientific discovery, where research not only aims to help people now, but find solutions that could treat thousands of people in the future. With special thanks…
Cancer will affect everyone, in some way, during their lifetime. While treatments have gotten better over the years, they are not always effective. Doctor and researcher, Giamp Valenzano, from the Department of Oncology is trying to tackle the disease using the power of our own immune systems. You probably know the immune system as the biological powerhouse that fights off colds. But this fighting mechanism may also help to kill cancer cells. Join Giamp in the lab to see how immunotherapy could remove cancer cells, especially those evading current treatments. Writers: Dr Charlotte Bird and Giamp Valenzano Editor: James Lee-Warner
Humanity’s earliest written history has always fascinated me, and the wealth of ancient primary sources available in particular from ancient Iraq can be used to study almost every aspect of human civilization. I received my Ph.D. in 2017 from the University of Copenhagen, where I am now Assistant Professor in Assyriology after having been a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford from 2020-2022. I am currently engaged in research on Mesopotamian medicine, magic, epidemics, and the transmission of knowledge in the ancient world. By combining traditional philology with interdisciplinary approaches, such as the study of ancient DNA, my…
My research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology consists of understanding the maturation process of neutrophils. Neutrophils are innate immune cells that are important to defend your body from harmful microbes and are also involved in the process of repair. However, if they are not correctly regulated, they can be damaging and contribute to diseases such as cancer, COVID-19, sepsis or autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. As immature neutrophils have been identified in these diseases, I am trying to understand what genes regulate the process of maturation, and how their maturation stage corresponds with their functions. As neutrophils mature, their…
Your immune system is the body’s defence mechanism against disease. But have you ever considered what the immune system actually looks like? Julia Salafranca, from the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, studies the immune system under the microscope. There are many different types of cells that help to keep you healthy, including neutrophils which kickstart the immune response. These specialist cells change shape during their lifetime, but scientists don’t know why. Find out how Julia is investigating this shape shifting behaviour and the importance of these changes for developing disease treatments in this video. Writer: Dr Charlotte Bird Editor: Rob Key
I was first inspired about the application of reproductive technology for conservation at the University of Aberdeen when one of my lecturers said that we could double the population of panda’s (which were critically endangered at the time) by stimulating multiple ovulations and then transferring embryos to surrogate black bears. This concept blew my mind. Obviously, the panda’s population was restored, not by this, but by an intensive breeding programme. However, my passion to use reproductive biology for conservation was thus embedded. I then carved a career across the globe learning more about how the ovary functioned in multiple species.…
I am actively involved in the Rhino Fertility Project led by Professor Suzannah Williams. We focus on developing novel techniques to culture rhino ovarian tissues and generate viable eggs in the lab. With only two female northern white rhinos remaining on Earth, time is of the essence. We are using southern white rhino ovarian tissue in our research efforts, as we work towards saving the northern white rhino from the brink of extinction. I hold a Master’s degree in Clinical Embryology and Assisted Reproduction Technology from the University of Leeds. This project allows me to merge my passion for reproductive…
My educational journey began in Turkey with a bachelor’s degree with honours in Biology, followed by an MSc in Reproductive Biology, which further enhanced my expertise in the field. Subsequently, I completed my PhD in Histology and Embryology, with a primary focus on the evaluation of mouse preimplantation embryo metabolism. This research was conducted in collaboration with Harvard University in the United States. Throughout my academic career, my research interests have predominantly revolved around embryo development and the intricate workings of both female and male reproductive systems. In September 2022, I embarked on a new chapter in my academic journey…
As an immunologist, I’m interested in understanding how people’s immune systems respond to vaccines and how we can use this information to develop even better ways of vaccinating people to protect us against infectious diseases. For the past 6 years I’ve worked with the clinical team in Professor Simon Draper’s research group who run malaria vaccine trials here in the UK and with collaborators in Tanzania. The work I do within this team focuses on a type of immune cell called B cells. Since these are the cells that make antibodies, if we can work out how to maximise the…