Research

Oxford University is world-famous for research excellence. Our core commitment is to maintain originality, significance and rigour in research within a framework of the highest standards of infrastructure, training, and integrity.

Search below for a range of research stories by department or topic. These stories include impact case studies, videos, news and the research in conversation series. For more information please see individual department websites.

Founders & Funders

Founders & Funders: Accelerating Oxford entrepreneurial capacity through a grassroots knowledge exchange programme

Impact case study

A grant from the Knowledge Exchange Seed Fund has allowed the Saïd Business School ‘Founders & Funders’ initiative to pilot new approaches to fostering research/industry interaction and collaboration.
sea and sand

Live well in Braunton

Impact case study

Dr Emma Ladds worked with a social prescribing project in Braunton, Devon, to help develop tools to measure project impact.
Monument of the Discoveries

Contested legacies

Impact case study

A new digital archive is helping to balance the narrative about Portugal’s colonial empire, and its key role in the creating and perpetuating the slave trade.
The Oxford Research Centre in Humanities launches Egypt Season

The Oxford Research Centre in Humanities launches Egypt Season

Using creative artistic practice, alongside cutting-edge technology and research, the season will tell the story of Egypt from the land of the Pharaohs to the modern, diverse country of today.

Professor Ketan Patel

Oxford Professor Ketan Patel appointed as Chief Scientist at Cancer Research UK

Professor Patel (KJ) will provide scientific leadership for the charity’s activities and ambitions, and he joins at an important time following the launch of the organisation’s new long-term strategy earlier this year that puts discovery science at the heart of its work.

women sitting at a table at an event

Fostering connections between social prescribing link workers and the cultural sector

Impact case study

A knowledge exchange event, jointly organised by staff from the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM) and Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM), brought together social prescribing link workers and cultural sector staff.
Life expectancy of minorities hit hardest in the US during COVID-19

Life expectancy of minorities hit hardest in the US during COVID-19

The Oxford team found that in 2020 life expectancy for Hispanic and Black males saw major set-backs of 4.5 years and 3.6 years respectively, compared with a reduction of 1.5 years in White males’ life expectancy.

Professor Eyre offers a unique perspective on the history of the environmental movement, at a time when it has gone mainstream - although he commenced his interest when one of the great social issues of the day was the demand to keep coal mines open

From OPEC to Net Zero and still optimistic: Professor Nick Eyre on 34 years as an environmentalist

Impact case studies

Now (sort of) approaching retirement, Professor Eyre offers a unique perspective on the history of the environmental movement, at a time when it has gone mainstream. When he commenced his interest, one of the great social issues of the day was the demand to keep coal mines open.

People looking at a poster on a posterboard.

Confronting the past through history education

Impact case study

Researchers in the Department of Education have worked with academics, young people, and educators to explore the challenge of tackling controversial histories in the classroom
Assyrian lion

Prophetic Assyrian Omens

Impact case study

Predicting Donald Trump’s presidency via sheep entrails must rank among the most unusual exercises in academic outreach ever undertaken.
Bartlemas dig

Digging into Oxford’s past

Impact case study

How volunteer archaeologists dug into Oxford’s deeper past.
Tactile exhibit in the Ashmolean

Please Touch the Art

Impact case study

The Oxford gadget that could revolutionise museum visits for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Buildings emitting greenhouse gasses

Tackling climate change by researching routes to greenhouse gas removal

Researchers from the University of Oxford are looking at ways to reduce greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.
Vaccination in arm

From the lab to the bedside: Translating healthcare research into clinical patient benefit

The Oxford Biomedical Research Centre is helping to turn healthcare research into practical solutions to benefit patients.
PV Solar Panels

Revolutionising solar power technology: Oxford PV

Helping to make solar power more efficient and more affordable.
SOPHIA Team University of Oxford

SOPHIA: Helping private companies reduce poverty

Researches from the University of Oxford are developing ways to help businesses tackle poverty across the world.
reconstruction of Palmyra’s Arch

Whose Heritage, Whose Reconstruction?

Impact case study

Dr Judith McKenzie’s convictions about the ‘intangible heritage’ vested in historic sites by those who live among them are shared by other Oxford academics.
Powis Castle

The National Trust Partnership: Connecting cutting-edge Oxford University research with the National Trust’s places and collections

A look into the collaborative partnership between the National Trust and Oxford University research.
bluetooth logo

Identifying and fixing critical design flaws in Bluetooth

Impact case study

Oxford University research uncovered critical flaws in the Bluetooth standard implemented in billions of devices worldwide.

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