Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Translational Neuroscience

Scientist holding beaker full of green liquid (stock photo) © SciencePhotoLibrary

The aim of the groups in the translational neuroscience theme is to use information from basic science studies to improve therapies for patients.  We study the role of key molecules in healthy brain function and psychiatric diseases using wide range of techniques in both in vivo and in vitro experimental models.  In order to ensure the relevance of our research for human diseases, and to stay abreast of new technical developments, we collaborate widely with other researchers, both in Oxford and further afield.



Groups within this theme

We work to understand the cognitive, biological, emotional and somatic processes underpinning the severe eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa in particular, and Eating Disorders in general. Our trans-disciplinary research, involving clinicians and neuroscientists, aims to translate research findings into novel treatment strategies.
Oxford Brain-Body Research into Eating Disorders
Our research aims to understand how psychotropic drugs work at molecular level. By exploring this through clinical research in patients we contribute to the development of new evidence-based pharmacological treatments for severe mental illness.
Clinical Psychopharmacology
We undertake research across the translational spectrum, ranging from basis science studies, through to trials of new treatments and approaches for psychosis, right through to researching clinical services and their effectiveness. We work closely with the Oxfordshire Early Intervention in Psychosis Service in Oxford Health NHS FT. This service provides high quality, multi-discliplinary care for people experiencing first episode of psychosis and their families. We also lead the Early Intervention Psychosis network for the NHS in the South of England, providing the opportunity to speed up the translation of new research findings into routine clinical care. You can find out more about our current studies below.
Early Psychosis Research Group
Our research aims to understand how individual genes contribute to the complex brain functions that are impaired in people with psychiatric disorders. By understanding these links we hope to improve treatments for these disorders.
Neural Correlates of Gene Function
We are dedicated to testing and developing new ways of improving treatments for psychiatric disorders, and maintaining brain health during aging. A significant proportion of people suffering from disturbances of mood and memory, do not respond to the available medication, and so there is an urgency to supplement or provide an alternative to current therapies.
Neurobiology and Experimental Therapeutics
We are interested in the molecular and neural basis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and how the risk genes for these disorders operate. We use a range of platforms, methods, and collaborations, to carry out this work.
Translational Neurobiology of Psychosis
Neuroimaging provides a window into the living brain, and is an increasingly vital experimental medicine tool for neuro-psychiatric disease. With a particular focus on early and pre-clinical disease, we explore how the brain changes before symptoms take hold.
Translational Neuroimaging
The Translational Neuroscience and Dementia Research Group undertake translational research ranging from mechanisms to drug development, and from discovery to qualification of molecular and imaging biomarkers in both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease and in related dementia disorders. The group, led by Professor Noel Buckley, comprises molecular and cellular biology scientists, computational biologists and informaticians working with molecular, clinical and imaging datasets. We have three main areas of activity, all aiming towards secondary prevention of dementia. By understanding disease mechanisms we seek potential therapeutics; through discovery of biomarkers we hope to enable preventative trials, and with informatics we utilise large biological and clinical datasets in the support of translational neuroscience.
Translational Neuroscience & Dementia Research

Publications

Publications image

Find all our latest publications here