Review of the Medical Science Division DPhil Day 2017

This year’s 14^th Annual Medical Sciences DPhil Day, a student-organised symposium, proudly showcased the varied and excellent biomedical and clinical research carried out by DPhil students across the Medical Sciences Division.

The event gave students the opportunity to present to their peers and see an exciting cross-section of ongoing research at Oxford’s many research sites.

Over 100 attendees attended 15 student talks covering a wide breadth of topics including neuroscience, organ transplantation, structural biology and vaccine design. Prizes were awarded to Malte Kaller (1^st) and Janine Grey (2^nd) for their outstanding presentations on myelination and drug development and active audience involvement was recognised with a prize for the best audience question awarded to Lancelot Millar. Students were also given the opportunity to present their posters with prizes awarded to Layal Liverpool (1^st) and Amy Flaxman (2^nd) for their work on host-viral interactions and microbiomes, respectively.

In addition to student presentations, Naomi Gibson, MSD Public Engagement Coordinator, spoke to students on the topic of Public Engagement, its increasing importance and how students can become involved as an integral part of their research careers.

The keynote lecture was provided by Professor Eleanor Riley of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Soon to take up a new post as Director of the Roslin Institute at Edinburgh University, we would like to thank Professor Riley for taking time travel to Oxford and share her insights from a long and inspiring career in multidisciplinary infectious disease research and malaria immunology.

The organising committee would also like to extend their thanks to Jane Rudman, Professor Afsie Sabokbar, Veliborka Milivojevic, our sponsors*, and to all the students who attended and presented their research for making the event a great success.

If you are interested in joining the organising committee for the 2018 event, please contact us or Jane Rudman for more information.

DPhil Day 2017 Committee

Agata Antepowicz, Alice Stelfox, Kento Kawai, Francesca Donnellan and Norbert Volkmar

Our sponsors

*Gilson, MACS Miltenyi Biotec, PeproTech, Sarstedt, Triplered

Review highlights risk factors associated with violence in schizophrenia

20 January 2022

Researchers at Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry have found that people with schizophrenia and related disorders are at higher-than-average risk of perpetrating violence, but that the overall risk remains low (less than 1 in 20 in women, and less than 1 in 4 for men over a 35-year period for violent arrests and crimes).

An estimated 1.2 million people died in 2019 from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections

20 January 2022

First comprehensive analysis of global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) estimates resistance itself caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019 - more deaths than HIV/AIDS or malaria - and that antimicrobial-resistant infections played a role in 4.95 million deaths.

Attention and memory deficits persist for months after recovery from mild Covid

19 January 2022

Researchers from Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology and Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences have shown that people who have had Covid but don’t complain of long Covid symptoms in daily life nevertheless can show degraded attention and memory for up to 6-9 months.

Plaster cast or metal pins to treat a broken wrist? The results are in.

19 January 2022

An Oxford study published in The BMJ has found the use of metal K-wires (commonly known as ‘pins’) to hold broken wrist bones in place while they heal are no better than a traditional moulded plaster cast.

New book expands the horizons of brain research

18 January 2022

A pioneering book from Professor Zoltán Molnár and Yale Professors Tamas Horvath and Joy Hirsch to be released on 1 February 2022 addresses the fundamental relationship between the body, brain and behaviour.