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.
The Department mourns the loss of three greats in neuropharmacology
11 August 2020
This summer three of the world’s most distinguished neurochemists died; each was a member of the Department during their outstanding scientific careers.
Professor Fran Platt secures £1M funding over two years for vital Parkinson's Disease research, in collaboration with Pfizer
4 August 2020
There is an increasing body of genetic and biochemical evidence that points toward lysosomal dysfunction as a risk factor for developing age-related neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Optical method to study interaction between sympathetic nerves and heart muscle
3 August 2020
Research led by Associate Professor Rebecca Burton at Oxford, together with Associate Professor Gil Bub at McGill University (Canada) and Professor Emilia Entcheva at George Washington University (USA), has demonstrated a purely optical method that makes it possible to stimulate cells and to directly observe both the effects of spatial distribution and functional connectivity between neurons and heart muscle cells. This model system provides a unique window into the relationship between the tissue health, neuron density and the excitability of the heart muscle. These insights are particularly relevant to understanding complications that arise after damage to the heart tissue, such as potentially lethal heart arrhythmias after a heart attack.