Medical Sciences

For the Inaugural Radcliffe Lecture 2014 Professor Hugh Watkins explores the success and limitations of genome sequencing in simple Mendelian diseases and in complex disorders, against the backdrop of his ground breaking research into heart disease. The Radcliffe Lecture series profiles the astonishing range of work being done in the departments which constitute the Medical Sciences Division at Oxford which is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for biomedical and clinical research and teaching and is the largest of the four academic divisions within the University. The Division comprises 16 departments, and their constituent units, institutes and centres, spread across three sites in Oxford and includes numerous clinical research units in Africa and Asia. Over 4800 academics, researchers and administrative staff, 1400 graduate and 1600 undergraduate students, and 380 NHS clinicians and GPs together contribute to our extensive and exemplary research, teaching and clinical portfolios. We aim to be the best university biomedical institution in Europe and amongst the best five biomedical institutions in the world, and have been ranked number one for the last four years in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences - the only non-North American institution to be top-ranked by THE in any subject discipline. The departments carry out research, teaching and clinical work across the entire spectrum of the medical sciences.

Professor Irene Tracey talks about her research into pain through using brain imaging technology to see exactly how the brain is affected by pain while discussing its implications to how we understand pain in society.

Professor Smith talks about his research at OPTIMA (Oxford Project To Investigate Memory and Ageing) on dementia, particularly Alzheimer's and the relation between diet and blood pressure in younger life and dementia in older life.

Head of the Department of Biochemistry Professor Kim Nasmyth talks about the department and what it means to be a biochemist at Oxford.

Kay Davies discusses her research of genetic diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, problems which limit the development of therapy and the need for effective treatment and screening processes.

In this podcast, Professor Gero Miesenboeck begins with a discussion of DNA and neuroscience, and then talks about his experiments on the brain of the fruit fly.

Dr Jennifer Lau discusses her research into the development of anxiety and depression in childhood and adolescence.

In the second of the Distinguished Public Lecture Series run by the James Martin 21st Century School, Dr Craig Venter discusses his work at the J. Craig Venter Institute and its implications for the future of our culture, society and science.

Professor Irene Tracey, director of the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, explains how MRI works and then talks about her research into people's perception of pain.

Professor Helleday explains what cancer is, the problems of treating it, and the success of his own research in developing new treatments.

Professor Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity, and Director of the Oxford Vaccine Centre, discusses childhood diseases, his research into vaccinations, and the problems facing childhood immunisation in the UK and abroad.