This magazine celebrates our alumni community, showcases cutting‑edge medical and scientific work, and strengthens the connection between alumni, students, and the University.
We look forward to sharing new updated Oxford Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Magazine coming soon in 2026! If you would like to get involved please check out our volunteering opportunities or contact us at alumni@smbms.ox.ac.uk
Vice-Chancellor Awards recognise medical projects
Support for Students Award Nominee: Widening Methods of Medical Teaching, Dr. Gina Hadley (Harris Manchester)
Empowering People Award Nominee: Management In Medicine Programme, Green Templeton College
Latest News from Medical Sciences
New shingles vaccine linked to lower risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure – major study indicates
26 August 2026
The shingles vaccine currently in use, called ‘Shingrix’, is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events – including heart attacks, heart failure and stroke – compared to the previous shingles vaccine, according to a major new study published in Nature Medicine.
Vapes help more people quit smoking than other methods, Oxford-led Cochrane review finds
26 August 2026
An updated Cochrane review led by Oxford researchers finds nicotine e-cigarettes help more people quit smoking than nicotine patches and gum, behavioural support or no support. The living review now includes 80 trials and nearly 30,000 participants.
Brain imaging study reveals how we decide whether we are in control
25 August 2026
A brain imaging and stimulation study led by the University of Oxford has identified the brain mechanisms that help us work out whether the consequences we experience are caused by our own actions or by circumstances beyond our control.
Semaglutide associated with fewer cognitive problems in people with mental illness
24 August 2026
Semaglutide, widely used to treat diabetes and obesity, was associated with fewer cognitive signs and symptoms in people with psychiatric disorders, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford.
Oxford researchers win prestigious national leadership prizes
20 August 2026
Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma Matthew Costa and NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow Rachel Kuo, both from the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, were announced among the winners of the NIHR20 Research Leaders Prizes in recognition of their outstanding contributions to health and care research.
A new layer of control for a decades-old leukemia drug
19 August 2026
How cells respond to the leukemia drug 6-thioguanine still holds surprises: A new study, led jointly by researchers from the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM) and the University of Oxford identifies NUDT5 as an unexpected regulator of drug sensitivity and reveals that its role has nothing to do with its enzymatic activity.
Study of 3,400 children links London's Ultra Low Emission Zone with improved lung growth
19 August 2026
The proportion of London children with clinically impaired lung function fell from around one in seven to one in 11 over five years following the introduction of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), according to a major five-year study jointly led by researchers from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.
New open-source tool helps researchers test robustness of findings
14 August 2026
Oxford researchers launch RobustiPy, a new open-source tool designed to ensure research is robust and reliable.