Value proposition

Empowering discovery in the physiological sciences to educate the next generation of doctors and biomedical scientists.

We are home to a large number of internationally-renowned teams of scientists addressing major questions in biomedicine, the answers to which will have a profound effect on modern biology. Crucially, though, we think that learning is just as important as research, and at our core lies a belief that a synthesis of the two is key to advancing our understanding. As such, we work to provide outstanding opportunities for graduate students and post-doctoral workers to gain a research training of the very highest quality, which will enable them to become the leaders of tomorrow and to communicate and employ their research in the wider world.

Our large preclinical department is made up of four Centres and significant footprint in two flagship cross-departmental Institutes: Burdon Sanderson Cardiac Science and Integrative Physiology Centre, Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, the Kavli Institute for NanoScience Discovery (housing the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre) and the Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine (IDRM), home to several DPAG groups.

Our research is split into six broad areas of study, including: Cardiac Science; Cell Physiology; Development and Cell Biology; Functional Genomics; Metabolism and Endocrinology; Neuroscience. Our work is necessarily multidisciplinary and cross-cutting, which means our researchers often work across more than one theme, as well as collaborating with colleagues in the physical sciences, life sciences and clinical departments across Oxford.

Alongside all of this, our staff undertakes most of the preclinical teaching for the University's top-ranked medical degrees, and our graduate courses attract a wealth of international talent. Ultimately, our department is built on a desire to understand basic science and a belief that our students are the future of research — together, we’re exploring the frontiers of biology.