Pathology: University of Oxford

Research Programmes

Famous for the development of penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics, the Department has an outstanding track record in medical research. It has a highly successful and wide-ranging research programme, gaining 5* assessments in the past two Research Assessment Exercises. Currently there are 24 groups doing research in four main areas.

• Immunology

The Department has an extremely strong tradition of excellence in this field, going back to the discovery of lymphocyte recirculation by Professor James Gowans and of the immunoglobulin superfamily by Professor Alan Williams. Past and present members of the Department have pioneered the study of regulatory T cells and the molecular basis of pathogen recognition by T cell and macrophages.

• Microbiology

Perhaps the best-known achievement of this Department was the purification and therapeutic usage of penicillin. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain were awarded a Nobel prize in Medicine for this work, which they shared with Alexander Fleming.

• Molecular Biology

Professor George Brownlee, a pioneer in the field of Molecular Biology, which he brought to the Dunn School in the early 1980s, first cloned and patented the production and clinical use of recombinant human blood clotting factor IX. Professor Brownlee trained and established a very strong group of scientists within the Dunn School studying the transcriptional and translational control of gene expression.

• Cell Biology and Pathology (including Cancer and Atherosclerosis)

Cell and Cancer Biology was brought to the School by Sir Henry Harris, a past Head of Department, who discovered eukaryotic cell fusion within its walls, thus pioneering the field of chromosome mapping in higher organisms and uncovering the first evidence for tumour suppressor genes. Current members of the Department pursue studies in Cell Biology and its interface with Immunology, Pathology, Molecular Biology and Cancer.

General Enquries

• Postal Address:
  The Graduate Admissions Office
  PO Box 738
  University of Oxford
  Wellington Square
  Oxford, OX1 9FB
• Tel: +44 (0)1865 270059
• Fax: +44 (0)1865 270049
• Email: graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk