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« Back to NewsThe latest news, updates and announcements from the Nuffield Department of Medicine.
New funding to create a lymphoid organoid and explant hub received
16 January 2025
Dr Pablo F. Céspedes, CAMS Oxford Institute Career Development Fellow, has received funding from NC3Rs to establish a lymphoid organoid and explant hub for researchers across the country.
Researchers discover new way to target cancer and immune-related diseases
14 January 2025
Groundbreaking research by scientists from the Centre for Medicines Discovery at the Nuffield Department of Medicine opens up new possibilities for developing treatments that could both fight cancer and regulate the immune system, offering hope for better and more precise therapies in the future.
Inhaled vaccines could reduce viral transmission
9 January 2025
An important step toward advancing vaccines for human use, a recent study has shown that inhaled vaccines could potentially improve efficiency and reduce viral transmission.
New blood test could enable early detection of multiple cancers
8 January 2025
A new blood test – powered by machine learning – has shown real promise in detecting multiple types of cancer in their earliest stages, when the disease is hardest to detect. Developed by a team of researchers and co-lead by the Centre for Human Genetics’ Dr Dimitris Vavoulis, the test accurately detected six cancer types and could distinguish between people with and without cancer.
Optimising testing for disease surveillance with machine learning
3 January 2025
A new machine learning-informed strategy could support public health leaders to design better disease surveillance during a disease outbreak.
Certain antimalarial drugs show moderate effect in preventing COVID-19
19 December 2024
Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) have led the world’s largest study on the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to prevent COVID-19. With results showing moderate protection against the virus, the trial involved over 4,600 participants and found a 15% reduction in symptomatic COVID-19 among those who took the medications compared to those who took a placebo.
Study on the impact of protein modification on cell physiology receives £6.4m
18 December 2024
A study aimed at increasing understanding of how cells function has received funding of £6.4 million. Led by the University of Strathclyde, NDM’s Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI) and collaborators from other universities across the UK will be working together to increase understanding in this area of research.
Reversing resistance to cancer immune therapy with antibodies
16 December 2024
A new study led by Professor Ignacio Melero of NDM's Centre for Immuno-oncology and the University of Navarra and has highlighted a way to combat resistance to cancer immunotherapy in solid tumours by using antibodies that target GDF-15 protein.
Launch of largest-ever study tracking chikungunya burden in East Africa
13 December 2024
A team of scientists in the UK, Kenya and Tanzania will soon find out the extent to which chikungunya, a debilitating mosquito-borne disease causing large outbreaks in Asia and South America, is also affecting countries in East Africa.
Two new MRC Centres to create cutting-edge gene therapies
11 December 2024
The Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI, is launching its first two Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE), which will develop transformative new advanced therapeutics for currently untreatable diseases. Oxford is leading one of these Centres and co-leading the other. Together, these international collaborations will receive up to £50 million each over 14 years.
New iontronic platform could advance miniature cancer-treatment systems
3 December 2024
Researchers at NDM’s Ludwig Cancer Research, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and other Oxford departments report the use of surfactant-supported assembly of freestanding microscale hydrogel droplets to construct iontronic modules and biointerfaces.
First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years
2 December 2024
An injection given during some asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) attacks is more effective than the current treatment of steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by 30 percent.
Study finds methaemoglobin levels could predict malaria recurrence
28 November 2024
A new study by NDM researchers and collaborators has found methaemoglobin levels during treatment for vivax malaria could be used to predict whether a patient would have recurrent malaria.
OUCRU researchers help shape global priorities in AMR research
27 November 2024
OUCRU researchers from Indonesia, Nepal, and Vietnam contributed to the newly published WHO research priorities for antimicrobial resistance. These top 40 priorities, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) with global collaborators, aim to guide research into drug-resistant infections over the next five years, with a special focus on challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Using functional genomics to reduce the cause of childhood brain tumours
26 November 2024
Researchers at Ludwig Cancer Research have leveraged functional genomics to suppress the function of the mutant histones responsible for driving 80% of incurable childhood brain tumours.
Improving antimicrobial resistance control in resource-limited areas
24 November 2024
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health emergency that threatens to reverse decades of medical progress. In Vietnam, the issue is particularly acute in underserved regions, where healthcare resources are often limited and diagnostic tools are scarce. NDM's Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) and the Phu Tho Department of Health have partnered to improve antibiotic stewardship and microbiology capabilities in underserved districts of the province.
Indonesia faces gaps in hospital antibiotic programmes
21 November 2024
A study led by OUCRU Indonesia and the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia (FMUI) found that 9 out of 10 hospitals, in a sample of 575 across 34 provinces of Indonesia, had a formal Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme. But only half of those had reached a development level where they could run a robust, functional stewardship programme.
Researchers discover the enzymatic mechanism for human ceramide synthase
13 November 2024
In an exciting collaboration between academia and industry, researchers at NDM’s Centre for Medicines Discovery and Boehringer Ingelheim have discovered the reaction mechanism for human ceramide synthase (CerS), which could help to form CerS-inhibiting products in the future.
Research traces impact of COVID-19 pandemic on travel and flu evolution
12 November 2024
Increased genomic surveillance capacity during the pandemic allowed researchers to get a deeper insight into the global distribution patterns of seasonal flu and other respiratory viruses.
Reconstructing a lifetime of flu infections to understand long-term trends
8 November 2024
Using antibody data and mathematical modelling, a new study from researchers at the Pandemic Sciences Institute estimates annual patterns of influenza infection and protection over the past fifty years.