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Oxford University

Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health

The Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health is one of the largest academic and clinical departments in the world in its field, encompassing multi-disciplinary research across the full spectrum of women’s health.

Egg vitrification in the laboratory

Egg vitrification in the laboratory. Credit: Zachary Domach / Graduate Photography Competition

Overview

There are around 180 people working in the department, including senior academic staff, research support staff, professional staff, and graduate students (including clinicians) carrying out research towards a higher degree. The department's work has four overarching themes:

  • Cancer
  • Global Health
  • Maternal and Foetal Health
  • Reproductive Medicine and Genetics

The laboratories of the Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health are fully equipped for a wide range of molecular and cell biology work with dedicated image analysis and flow cytometry facilities. The department's clinical and laboratory programmes are based in:

  • The Women’s Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital,
  • The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital;
  • The Institute of Reproductive Sciences (IRS), Oxford Business Park; and
  • The Big Data Institute.

The laboratories at the the Women’s Centre give excellent access to patients and clinical samples for research from clinics, theatres and delivery suites. The department maintains many special clinical services which help generate programmes of research.

There are also collaborations with the School’s Institutes, the University’s Science Departments and with researchers outside Oxford, in both the UK and abroad, especially in low middle income countries.

The department has a variety of students studying towards research degrees, including students from both scientific and clinical backgrounds. The basis of the department’s research programmes are laboratory or clinical projects in which you carry out independent research in your chosen area, as agreed with your supervisor.

Courses offered

Medical Sciences Division

The Medical Sciences Division houses some of the strongest biomedical research in the world; Oxford is repeatedly placed first in clinical, pre-clinical and health in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The Medical Sciences Division at Oxford is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for biomedical and clinical research and teaching, made up of 16 departments.

The Medical Sciences Division's departments and institutes in Oxford and overseas are home to some of the strongest biomedical research in the world, regularly appearing at the highest levels in world rankings and rated world-leading and internationally excellent.

The division’s 2,000 researchers cover a wide range of research, from atomic-resolution molecular structural biology to epidemiology as applied to very large populations. This enables students to work on virtually any biomedical problem.

The division provides a stimulating and challenging environment for more than 2,000 talented graduate students with excellent new facilities and close personal supervision by world-class researchers. To complement research supervision and course teaching there is a wide range of facilities aimed at the personal and professional development of students, strengthening their existing skills and developing new skills.

All candidates who apply by the December or January deadline shown on the course page are automatically considered for full funding awards, irrespective of their nationality. The majority of students accepted by the Medical Sciences Division secure full funding, covering both fees and living expenses.

Further information