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The Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM) at the University of Oxford has a global reach and significant breadth in terms of capabilities and capacity.
David Stuart: Structural biology and vaccines
The basis of an effective vaccine is that a pathogen is physically recognised by the immune system.
Kay Grunewald: Structural cell biology of virus infection
Understanding the entirety of a virus’ ‘life cycle’ requires an understanding of its transient structures at the molecular level. Using imaging techniques allows us to understand the communication between the virus and the components of the cell it is infecting, which can ultimately help to treat infectious diseases.
Jens Rittscher: Biological imaging
Video microscopy aims to improve target discovery and drug development and to do so generates large volumes of data. Fluorescence labelling helps make intrinsic cellular functions visible and computational tools then enable analysis of these data sets to improve our understanding of cellular functions.
Sebastian Nijman: Pharmacogenomics
In the context of cancer, genetic diversity means that we respond differently to various treatments. Pharmacogenomics sits at the intersection between genetics and drugs. Better understanding of the genetic landscape of cancer and the recent increase of targeted drugs allow us to better match patients with the best treatments, improving care.
Ian Pavord: Asthma
Ian Pavord's research in to airway inflammation has resulted in mepolizumab being identified as an effective inhibitor of eosinophilic inflammation and asthma attacks. Mepolizumab is currently in Phase III clinical trials and if found to be effective could be a promising treatment for certain asthma patients.
Najib Rahman: Respiratory Medicine
Respiratory medicine encompasses a large number of common diseases like pneumonia, asthma, emphysema and lung cancer. Outcomes are currently relatively poor and the area of research is underfunded. Recent progress have been made towards personalising treatment, and Dr Rahman's research aims at improving patient care.
Chris O’Callaghan: Atherosclerosis & immunity
Atherosclerosis is the most important cause of death worldwide. It is caused by the accumulation of both fatty material and immune cells. Over time, these set up an inflammatory reaction which causes a lot of damage to the blood vessel wall. Although we do have good therapies designed to lower the levels of fatty material, we haven’t any therapies specifically designed to target the effect of the immune system. Professor O'Callaghan's group is working towards developing such therapies.
Stefan Knapp: Development of chemical probes
While drugs were initially developped by testing natural products directly in humans, the current approach is to use chemical probes. These are small chemical coumpounds that inhibit selected targets, avoiding side effects. Professor Knapp produces structures of molecular targets and makes them widely available. This will allow a faster and more cost effective development of new drugs.
Chas Bountra: Drug Discovery
Drug candidates are first selected by screening compounds capable of binding to a target protein. Those compounds are then tested in various assay systems, healthy volunteers and finally in patients. Academic research excels at defining good target proteins. Pharmaceutical companies then facilitate the transition from basic research to clinical trials, producing new therapies for patients.
Simon Travis: Clinical Trials in Gastroenterology
Clinical trials in gastroenterology bring cutting edge care to patients in the clinic. Researchers in the Translational Gastroenterology Unit look at individual targets of treatment, and also at specific timing of treatment with the aim to change the pattern of chronic life-long disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.
Benedikt Kessler: Proteomics and Biomarkers
Biomarkers are molecular features that give us clues about underlying biological processes. They are typically used to monitoring a disease or predicting the outcome of a treatment. Modern analytical equipment allows us to measure thousands of molecules at the same time. This technology will accelerate the discovery of more accurate biomarkers, with the aim to improve medical diagnosis and treatment.
Liz Carpenter: Membrane proteins and drug development
Membrane proteins are the gateways to the cell: many nutrients, ions, waste products, and even DNA and proteins enter and leave cells via proteins which are tightly controlled, maintaining the integrity of the cell. Drugs often target membrane proteins; therefore, understanding their molecular structure helps us design better drugs to cure diseases.
Derrick Crook: Tracking infections
Understanding how an infection spreads is vitally important for prevention. Whole genome sequencing of microorganisms allows us to construct family trees of infections, from donnor to recipients, and understand how microbes behave in general. Through its genetic code, we can also predict whether a germ is susceptible or resistant to a specific antibiotic, and give patients a more stratified and personalised treatment.
John Davis: Why we work on Alzheimer’s disease
The burden caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias represents one of the biggest problems for our healthcare systems. The last medicine was approved in 2002 and today we only have symptomatic treatments. ARUK-ODDI brings together chemists, biologist, psychiatrists and neuroscientists, many of them with pharmaceutical background, aiming to accelerate the discovery of novel and effective treatments.
Tackling and tracking TB through DNA analysis
Find out how a multidisciplinary team of scientists came to create England's new way to identify how to fight and track TB outbreaks using DNA analysis.
Brian Marsden: From information to structure
Protein structures are powerful tools in the development of medical drugs, but they are not very accessible to non-specialists. Research informatics presents these structures more simply and interactively, and helps scientists make decisions. This will hopefully accelerate the development of new medicines.
Nicola Burgess-Brown: Unravelling proteins
Recombinant protein expression in host cells such as bacterial or insect cells facilitates the production of large amounts of proteins, which can be used for crystallisation to obtain the protein structure, or in cellular assays to look at their function. Collaborations with partners such as academics, industry and patient groups aim to find compounds that can be developed into potential drugs.
Kilian Huber: Targeting drug discovery
In the search for new medicines for cancer or inflammatory disorders, small molecules are invaluable tools for testing the activity of possible target proteins. Those small chemical compounds can also affect the morphology and phenotype of cell samples collected from patients, opening the possibility to develop new therapeutics.