Consequences of Tau pathology on hippocampal pyramidal neurons and network activity in ageing mice
17 November 2022
Pathological hyperphosphorylated forms of the microtubule-associated binding protein Tau (pTau) are commonly found in people with neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Corticobasal degeneration, and Progressive supranuclear palsy.
Welcome to the 2022/23 academic year in Pharmacology!
14 October 2022
At the start of this year, we have welcomed 23 new MSc in Pharmacology students, 13 new MSc(Res) and DPhil students and around a dozen additional project and visiting students from other Departments and other Universities. Some of these new starters joined existing staff, students and visitors in the Department for the first of a series of group photographs, to be taken every 6 months for our archives.
New Platt group paper explores links between Mycobacteria tuberculosis and Niemann-Pick Type C disease
14 September 2022
Congratulations to Yuzhe Weng, a DPhil student in the Platt lab, who is first author on new paper published by the group in Nature Communications. Mycobacteria tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), has the ability to invade, persist and replicate within host cells, which is key to its success as a pathogen. However, the mechanisms that underlie this strategy remain poorly defined.
PROFESSOR REBECCA SITSAPESAN 1959-2022
28 June 2022
We were sad to learn that our dear colleague Rebecca has died just a few days before what would have been her 63rd birthday.
New high-resolution imaging provides clue to SARS-CoV-2 leap to humans
24 June 2022
A new paper, published this week in the journal Science, highlights cutting-edge imaging techniques used by the group of Professor Ben Davis to investigate the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to human cells.
Dr Mehmood Khan joins Pharmacology as a Visiting Fellow
6 June 2022
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Mehmood Khan as a Visiting Fellow in the Department
Fran Platt awarded 2023 Thudichum Medal
7 April 2022
Pharmacology Head of Department, Professor Fran Platt, has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Thudichum Medal, presented by the Biochemical Society.
Join Pharmacology as the next Blaschko Fellow
11 March 2022
Two year fellowship, offered in association with Linacre College, which offers full salary support, funding for travel and consumables and college accommodation. Join one of the existing groups in Pharmacology and develop your own research programme.
Enhancing the maternal microbiota provides long-term protection against inherited emotional dysfunction
24 February 2022
Probiotic supplements administered during pregnancy and nursing improved resilience to mood disorders in the offspring
Sir Jon Symonds joins Pharmacology as a Visiting Fellow
11 February 2022
The Department of Pharmacology is delighted to announce the appointment of Sir Jonathan Symonds CBE, Chair of the Board of GlaxoSmithKline, as a Visiting Fellow. Jon has been Chairman of the Board at GSK since September 2019.
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.