scholarly journals Iain Donald Campbell. 24 April 1941—5 March 2014

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Naismith
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Protein Nmr ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Scientific Career ◽  
Structural Cell ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
Spin Resonance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

Iain Campbell defined the study of proteins by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) in the UK, and was a towering international figure in biophysics and structural cell biology. His scientific career spanned nearly 50 years, almost entirely spent at the University of Oxford. As a PhD student he recorded electron spin resonance spectra, then later became a pioneer in the application of NMR methodology to whole cells, determining the world's second and UK's first protein structure by NMR. He ended his career as one of the leading scientific lights in integrin adhesion and focal cell assembly. His scientific contributions are characterized by intellectual rigour and a desire to solve the problem by applying the most appropriate tools. All who knew Iain noted his incredible work ethic, his precision and in particular his wry humour. The co-workers trained by Iain form the backbone of protein NMR internationally today, a tribute to his mentorship. His loss was deeply felt by colleagues across the world and of course most of all by his loving family.

scholarly journals Hydroxychloroquine and dexamethasone in COVID-19: who won and who lost?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Ortolani ◽  
Elide A. Pastorello
Keyword(s):  
Lung Damage ◽  
Definitive Treatment ◽  
Pharmacologic Therapy ◽  
Mechanically Ventilated ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
Randomized Controlled Studies ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

Abstract Background On June 30, 2020, the WHO reported over 10 millions of COVID-19 cases worldwide with over half a million deaths. In severe cases the disease progresses into an Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which in turn depends on an overproduction of cytokines (IL-6, TNFα, IL-12, IL-8, CCL-2 and IL1) that causes alveolar and vascular lung damage. Clearly, it is essential to find an immunological treatment that controls the “cytokine storm”. In the meantime, however, it is essential to have effective antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs available immediately. Pharmacologic therapy for COVID-19 Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine have been widely adopted worldwide for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. However, the choice of this treatment was based on low quality of evidence, i.e. retrospective, non-randomized controlled studies. Recently, four large Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) have been performed in record time delivering reliable data: (1) the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RCT included 60 hospitals participating all over the world and showed the efficacy of remdesivir in reducing the recovery time in hospitalized adults with COVID-19 pneumonia; (2) three large RCTs already completed, for hydroxychloroquine, dexamethasone and Lopinavir and Ritonavir respectively. These trials were done under the umbrella of the 'Recovery' project, headed by the University of Oxford. The project includes 176 participating hospitals in the UK and was set up to verify the efficacy of some of the treatments used for COVID-19. These three ‘Recovery’ RCTs concluded definitely: (a) that treatment with hydroxychloroquine provides no benefits in patients hospitalized with COVID-19; (b) that treatment with dexamethasone reduced deaths by one-third in COVID-19 patients that were mechanically ventilated, and by one-fifth in patients receiving oxygen only; (c) that the combination of Lopinavir and Ritonavir is not effective in reducing mortality in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Conclusions The results of these four large RCTs have provided sound indications to doctors for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and prompted the correction of many institutional provisions and guidelines on COVID-19 treatments (i.e. FDA, NIH, UK Health Service, etc.). Even though a definitive treatment for COVID-19 has not yet been found, large RCTs stand as the Gold Standards for COVID-19 therapy and offer a solid scientific base on which to base treatment decisions.

scholarly journals Athelstan Laurence Johnson Beckwith OA FAA. 20 February 1930 — 15 May 2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Rae
Keyword(s):  
Free Radicals ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Chemical Research ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Spin Resonance ◽  
National University ◽  
The University ◽  
Australian Academy ◽  
Australian Universities

Athelstan (‘Athel’) Laurence Johnson Beckwith was an organic chemist whose research was concerned with free radicals, the reactive intermediates that have important roles in many organic chemical reactions. After studies and junior appointments at Australian universities, he completed his doctorate at Oxford University at a time when scepticism about the very existence of free radicals was being dispelled by a small group of experimentalists. Returning to Australia, where he occupied chairs at the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University, Beckwith used studies of organic structure and mechanisms, revealed by kinetic methods and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, to become a world leader in this field of chemistry. He was honoured by election to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science (1973) and the Royal Society of London (1989), by several awards from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and by membership of the Order of Australia (2004). His extensive travels, often accompanied by his wife, Kaye, and their children, to work in overseas chemical research laboratories and to give presentations at international meetings, helped him to secure his place in networks at the highest levels of his profession. Several of those who studied with him now hold important positions in Australian chemistry.

Resistance

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Herbert
Keyword(s):  
Research Council ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
New Public ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

This chapter discusses the antagonism and resistance directed against the ARHB. When the Dearing Report first appeared, the University of Oxford stood against the establishment of a separate Research Council for humanities. It expressed doubts about the new public funding of such a new organization and on the transfer of control of expenditure away from the universities to a council envisaged as the instrument of a national policy for research in arts and humanities. Cambridge University also expressed, albeit not as adamantly as Oxford, their disapproval of a Humanities Research Council. Adding to these disapprovals were the conflicts it had caused in the contemporary UK political life, particularly with devolution. In the devolution process of the UK government, one of the devolved powers was education, which created adverse effects on the formulation of Humanities Research Council. The AHRB also met with criticism from other councils including the journals and newspapers of the UK.

scholarly journals Who funded the research behind the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. e007321
Author(s):  
Samuel Cross ◽  
Yeanuk Rho ◽  
Henna Reddy ◽  
Toby Pepperrell ◽  
Florence Rodgers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Principal Investigators ◽  
Publication History ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Vectored Vaccine ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

ObjectivesThe Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Vaxzevira or Covishield) builds on two decades of research and development (R&D) into chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine (ChAdOx) technology at the University of Oxford. This study aimed to approximate the funding for the R&D of ChAdOx and the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine and to assess the transparency of funding reporting mechanisms.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review and publication history analysis of the principal investigators to reconstruct R&D funding the ChAdOx technology. We matched award numbers with publicly accessible grant databases. We filed freedom of information (FOI) requests to the University of Oxford for the disclosure of all grants for ChAdOx R&D.ResultsWe identified 100 peer-reviewed articles relevant to ChAdOx technology published between January 2002 and October 2020, extracting 577 mentions of funding bodies from acknowledgements. Government funders from overseas (including the European Union) were mentioned 158 times (27.4%), the UK government 147 (25.5%) and charitable funders 138 (23.9%). Grant award numbers were identified for 215 (37.3%) mentions; amounts were publicly available for 121 (21.0%). Based on the FOIs, until December 2019, the biggest funders of ChAdOx R&D were the European Commission (34.0%), Wellcome Trust (20.4%) and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (17.5%). Since January 2020, the UK government contributed 95.5% of funding identified. The total identified R&D funding was £104 226 076 reported in the FOIs and £228 466 771 reconstructed from the literature search.ConclusionOur study approximates that public and charitable financing accounted for 97%–99% of identifiable funding for the ChAdOx vaccine technology research at the University of Oxford underlying the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine until autumn 2020. We encountered a lack of transparency in research funding reporting.

Athelstan Laurence Johnson Beckwith 1930 - 2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Rae
Keyword(s):  
Free Radicals ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Chemical Research ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Spin Resonance ◽  
National University ◽  
The University ◽  
Australian Academy ◽  
Australian Universities

Athel Beckwith was an organic chemist whose research was concerned with free radicals, the reactive intermediates that play important roles in many organic chemical reactions. After studies and junior appointments at Australian universities, at Oxford University he worked with W. A. Waters and completed his doctorate at a time when scepticism about the very existence of free radicals was being rolled back by a small group of experimentalists. Returning to Australia, where he occupied chairs at the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University, Beckwith used studies of organic structure and mechanisms, revealed by kinetic methods and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, to become a world leader in this field of chemistry. He was honoured by election to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science (1973) and the Royal Society of London (1989), by several awards from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and by membership of the Order of Australia (2004). His extensive travels, often accompanied by his wife Kaye and their children, to work in overseas chemical research laboratories and to give presentations at international meetings, helped him to secure his place in networks at the highest levels of his profession. Several those who studied with him now hold important positions in Australian chemistry.

scholarly journals Cell scientist to watch – Christine Faulkner

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (24) ◽  
pp. jcs256826
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Plant Cells ◽  
Postdoctoral Position ◽  
Molecule Transport ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Function ◽  
The University ◽  
Sydney Australia

ABSTRACTChristine Faulkner pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney, Australia. She then joined Robyn Overall's research group at the same institution to obtain her PhD in molecular and cell biology, where she characterised plasmodesmata, which are connection channels between plant cells that allow for communication and molecule transport. In 2005, Christine moved to the UK to continue studying plasmodesmata characterisation and function, as well as trying to understand their link to infection outcomes. Her first postdoctoral position was with Karl Oparka at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a second at the John Innes Centre in Norwich with Professor Andrew Maule. She subsequently joined the lab of Silke Robatzek at The Sainsbury Laboratory, also in Norwich, before starting an independent fellowship at Oxford Brookes University, in Oxford, in 2012. In December 2013, Christine returned to the John Innes Centre to establish her own lab. In 2016, she was awarded an ERC Consolidator grant. Her lab is trying to understand how cell–cell communication occurs in plants, focusing on plasmodesmata, and how this process is crucial for regulation of the plant immune response.

scholarly journals Academic Endowments in the United Kingdom – Do They Make a Difference?

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Aljosa Sestanovic ◽  
Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi ◽  
Sarwar Khawaja
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Education System ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
Education Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

This paper analyses the role and significance of the endowments for the UK higher education system. We have systematised the metrics commonly used to measure the performance of the academic endowments. To collect the data about universities and colleges, we exploited the data provided by the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) that collect and disseminate UK higher education data and the data provided by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The size of the university and colleges endowments is valued using their respective financial statements, using endowment reserve account of the balance sheet.The academic endowments linked with the UK universities and colleges are estimated to be worth £15.8 billion in 2020. According to the number of the endowments linked with universities and colleges endowments, they play a significant role in the UK higher education system. However, there is a notable difference concerning endowment size between the few most reputable academic institutions and other universities and colleges. For example, the two largest endowments (the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge with accompanied colleges endowments) in 2020 had a share of 75% measured by the size of the endowment assets. Moreover, this 75% has been stable during the last several years.In addition, the UK academic endowments are much smaller than their US counterparts and thus generally have lesser significance for the UK higher education system, while they may play a significant role for particular institutions. The endowment size per student has also been much smaller in the UK than in the US. Except for the six universities and colleges, the share of the income coming from endowments and donations in the total income has been relatively low, 2% or less. Considering the long history and tradition of the endowments in England, their role in the UK higher education system is deeply rooted. However, with their historical performance and significance for some higher education providers, there is an opportunity for a more prominent role in the future.

scholarly journals ‘Independent Experts’ and Immigration Policies in the UK

2019 ◽  
pp. 69-83
Author(s):  
Martin Ruhs
Keyword(s):  
Advisory Committee ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Advisory Body ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
Independent Analysis ◽  
Expert Advisory ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

This chapter discusses the experiences of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and the Migration Observatory (MigObs) in providing independent analysis to inform immigration debates and policy‐making in the UK. The MAC was established by the UK government in 2007 and MigObs was launched as an ‘impact project’ by the University of Oxford in 2009. The chapter includes critical reflections and personal assessments based on the author’s role as one of five members of the MAC during 2007–2014 and as the first Director of MigObs during 2009–2012. The chapter shows how the institutional design of an impact initiative such as MigObs, or of an expert advisory body such as the MAC, can have important implications for its credibility and political acceptability, and thus long-term impacts on debates and policy-making.

scholarly journals Current topics in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine: a regional perspective from the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Eustace Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Regenerative Medicine ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
North West ◽  
University Of Oxford ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Regenerative Medicines ◽  
The Uk ◽  
University Of Manchester

This special issue of Emerging Topics in Life Sciences entitled ‘Current Topics in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine’ brings together expertise from a collaborative organisation known as the Mercia Stem Cell Alliance (MSCA). The alliance was established initially by Professors Sue Kimber (University of Manchester) and Jon Frampton (University of Birmingham) just over 10 years ago and now has multiple regional centres of excellence across the Midlands and North West of the UK, including Aston University, University of Chester, Keele University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Lancaster University, University of Leicester, University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moore's University, Loughborough University, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, University of Sheffield, University of York. Many of these centres have contributed reviews to this issue. The MSCA also partners with industrial and clinical organisations, including the NHS, and is active in bringing stem cells and regenerative medicines to a meaningful translational endpoint (see: http://www.msca.manchester.ac.uk/).

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