Oxford and GSK launch Experimental Medicine Collaboration
18 November 2025
GSK invests £10 million over five years to establish the Experimental Medicine Collaboration with the University of Oxford.
Shaping immunity - the secrets behind the shape of neutrophils
14 November 2025
Researchers at the Kennedy Institute have provided the most comprehensive overview to date of how the distinctive segmented nucleus of neutrophils influences their function in health and disease.
Linh Nguyen receives Lee Placito Research Fellowship
13 November 2025
Congratulations to Linh Nguyen who has been awarded a Lee Placito Research Fellowship in Gastrointestinal Disease.
Oxford researchers to redefine new human-based research models of pain
12 November 2025
Professor Tonia Vincent is part of an interdisciplinary team from Oxford University leading a major new initiative which aims to redefine human-based research models for greater understanding of disease and the acceleration of new medicines.
New Microbiome Innovation Network to drive UK Bioscience Research
5 November 2025
Researchers from the Kennedy Institute are part of a UK-wide consortium that has been awarded a £644K BBSRC Network Grant to establish the Microbiome Innovation Network (Microbiome-Net).
Prof Calliope Dendrou, alongside 2025 Nobel Prize Winner, aims to ‘stop the clock’ on chronic inflammation
9 October 2025
Teaming up with scientists and clinician-scientists at the University of Birmingham, and with 2025 Nobel Prize winner Professor Shimon Sakaguchi from Osaka University, Professor Calliope Dendrou from the Kennedy Institute will work on a major research programme to transform the treatment of autoimmune diseases by halting chronic inflammation at its source.
NDORMS researchers honoured in the Recognition of Distinction Scheme 2025
27 August 2025
Jelena Bezbradica Mirkovic, Audrey Gerard, Karthik Ramasamy and Sarah Snelling have been awarded the title of ‘Full Professor’ in the University of Oxford’s 2025 Recognition of Distinction exercise.
Julia Karjalainen Awarded Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds PhD Fellowship
11 August 2025
Julia Karjalainen, A DPhil candidate at the Kennedy Institute, has been awarded a competitive Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds PhD fellowship to study neuro-immune interactions in skin disease.
Dr Mariana Borsa to start her own research group in Basel
7 August 2025
Dr Mariana Borsa, Postdoctoral Researcher in autophagy and ageing, will leave the Kennedy Institute to start an exciting new chapter in Switzerland as a Principal Investigator.
NDORMS recognised as a European Centre of Excellence
29 July 2025
NDORMS has been awarded the designation of a EULAR Centre of Excellence for a third consecutive term. This prestigious award is a recognition of the department’s contribution to advancing the science of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
Dr Fränze Progatzky wins Lister Prize
21 July 2025
Dr Fränze Progatzky, Principal Investigator in Tissue Biology and Wellcome Career Development Fellow, has been awarded a Lister Institute Research Prize to support her outstanding science.
Mikalena Xenophontos awarded an MRC Fellowship
18 July 2025
Mikalena Xenophontos, a DPhil candidate at NDORMS, has been awarded an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship to explore the role of glial cells in rheumatoid arthritis.
New £50m MRC Centre to study how environmental exposures cause chronic inflammatory diseases
16 July 2025
A new Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence (MRC CoRE) will investigate how the environment interacts with our immune system to trigger chronic inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
First of its kind study for children with arthritis reveals possible new disease targets
4 July 2025
Researchers have been able to see what happens in the inflamed joints of children with arthritis, giving insight into why treatments affect children differently.
New insights into chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis
30 June 2025
Kennedy researchers have uncovered new clues about how immune memory exacerbates inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, which could lead to better ways to control the disease.
Dr Chrissy Bolton wins Best Abstract Award at EULAR 2025 Congress
25 June 2025
Kennedy DPhil student Chrissy Bolton has been awarded Best Abstract in Basic and Translational Science at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology 2025 (EULAR) conference.
£1.4m awarded to investigate how tumour mechanics affect the immune response to cancer
24 June 2025
Professor Marco Fritzsche from the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, is co-leading a research project that has been awarded a £1.4 million Programme Foundation Award from Cancer Research UK, to investigate how physical forces within tumours affect the ability of a type of white blood cell to attack and eliminate cancer cells.
Designing better bispecific T-cell engagers for cancer immunotherapy
19 June 2025
Kennedy researchers have uncovered key design parameters for bispecific T-cell engagers (TcEs) - a class of cancer immunotherapy drugs. The findings may help unlock the full potential of TcEs and revolutionise cancer treatment for patients.
Macrophages near blood vessels drive inflammation early in arthritis
9 May 2025
A study has found that a subtype of macrophage is found in the perivascular niche early in the development of inflammatory arthritis, attracting more immune cells and potentially driving inflammation. Targeting these cells with new therapies could be a potential avenue for treating inflammatory arthritis before it develops in severity.
TCRs drive CARs
1 May 2025
Researchers have developed an innovative dual-receptor T-cell therapy that promises safer and more effective cancer treatments. This study, published in Cell, demonstrates that engineering T-cells to express both a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a T-cell Receptor (TCR) can improve their ability to distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissues—addressing a major challenge in current immunotherapy.