Heart neurons use clock genes to control myocyte proliferation
10 December 2021
A recent study involving the Minichiello group and international collaborators, principally at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA, has uncovered an unknown link between cardiac neurons and clock genes in the regulation of heart size and cardiomyocyte proliferation. The lack of appropriate animal models has impaired addressing the precise effect of sympathetic neurons on heart development. The authors have used a novel mouse model based on the deletion of nerve growth factor (NGF) in smooth muscle cells disrupting cardiac sympathetic innervation to demonstrate that sympathetic innervation decreases cardiomyocyte proliferation through clock genes. These novel findings suggest neuronal modulation as a therapeutic strategy for cardiac regeneration.
Rosalind Franklin Institute and Pharmacology announce strategic partnership in Next Generation Chemistry
7 December 2021
The Rosalind Franklin Institute and the University of Oxford’s Department of Pharmacology have entered into a strategic partnership for Next Generation Chemistry.
New insight into the pharmacology of a therapeutic ion channel target
26 August 2021
A new paper, published by the Tammaro lab in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shines new light on potential sites for pharmacological intervention within TMEM16A channels.
New BHF study offers potential of new clinical options for cardiac treatment
9 August 2021
A new study, led by Professor Kim Dora in association with Professor Raimondo Ascione at the University of Bristol, has shown abnormalities in the tiny blood vessels of human hearts which cannot be detected by current heart scans. Poor myogenic (automatic) tone, where blood flow in these vessels is abnormal, is thought to develop independent of disease in the larger arteries, which can be treated using stents or bypass surgeries.
Professor Fran Platt elected to The Royal Society
6 May 2021
We were delighted to learn from the announcement today, 6 May 2021, that Professor Fran Platt has been elected a Fellow of The Royal Society. She is one of the 52 distinguished scientists whose election was announced, and one of the two biologists out of six Oxford academics so-honoured this year. https://royalsociety.org/news/2021/05/new-fellows-announcement-2021/
Success for Dr Kerstin Timm with AMS Springboard grant
15 April 2021
Dr Kerstin Timm in the Department of Pharmacology has been announced as one of the latest round of PIs to secure an AMS Springboard Award. The AMS Springboard award is highly competitive and is intended for new independent researchers in biomedical sciences, who have been in their role for less than 4 years and have not received more than £150,000 in grant money. The Springboard award thus allows new PIs to launch a new independent program of research, and awards are made for up to £100,000 over 2 years.
John Parrington launches ‘Mind Shift: How culture transformed the human brain’
15 April 2021
A new book is published this week by Oxford University Press written by Associate Professor John Parrington. ‘Mind Shift’ draws on new scientific evidence to offer a substantive material explanation of self-conscious awareness in humans.
Vasudevan lab identifies novel means of improving sensitivity and efficiency for PCR COVID testing
9 April 2021
In collaboration with the infectious disease units at the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals, the Vasudevan lab has identified a novel means of improving RT-qPCR sensitivity and efficiency for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 through the concentration of pooled patient lysates.
International collaboration by Potter group uncovers vital element in regulation of Na⁺/K⁺- ATPase-α1
13 November 2020
An international collaboration of the Potter Group with Solomon Snyder’s Group in the USA and with Chinese and German colleagues has uncovered the myo-inositol polyphosphate pyrophosphate 5-InsP7 as a regulator of the Na⁺/K⁺- ATPase-α1
Professor Angela Russell receives 2021 Harrington UK Rare Disease Scholar Award
15 October 2020
Angela Russell, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Oxford Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry, has been announced as one of the five recipients of the inaugural UK Rare Disease Scholar Award, presented by the Harrington Discovery Institute (HDI).
Professor Fran Platt appointed as new Head of Department of Pharmacology
1 October 2020
Professor Fran Platt has been appointed as the new Head of Department for Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. Fran took up her new post with effect from 1 June 2020 and will serve for an initial period of five years.
New Garland/Dora group paper provides a novel mechanism for the vasospasm underlying cardiovascular disease
17 August 2020
The Vascular Pharmacology group has published a paper in Hypertension showing that loss of nitric oxide production by endothelial cells, a ubiquitous feature of cardiovascular disease, raises the electrical excitability of arterial smooth muscle by recruiting T-type voltage-gated calcium channels. This change switches physiological vasomotion to pathological vasospasm.