The 2023 NDS Away Day showcased the department's current research and education activities, as well as celebrated and recognised the wealth of achievement and talent across our community. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn from one another, network and share ideas.
The day comprised of short research presentations from Simon Buczacki, Regent Lee, Alex Green, Ben Turney and Sushma Shankar, whilst Claire Edwards and Anna Furmanski provided insights into postgraduate education in NDS.
The event also featured a variety of guest speakers: Heather House and Ferdousi Chowdhury gave an overview of Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance; Grant Stewart spoke about surgical oncology research at the University of Cambridge; and Giovanna Lombardi from King's College London gave a talk on 'Regulatory T cell therapy: the journey from concept to clinic' for the Andrew Bushell Memorial Lecture.
We were also excited to welcome Vice-Chancellor Professor Irene Tracey who presented an inspirational talk on current support and development strategies, and future plans at the University of Oxford.
Plus, there was a wellbeing session on resilience by The Wellbeing Project.
At the end of the day, Head of Department Professor Freddie Hamdy announced the winners of the NDS Staff Awards for the year 2022. All members of the department were asked to nominate colleagues in seven categories, and the winners were decided by the NDS Staffing Committee.
Congratulations to the award winners
Gurdeep S. Mannu - Sir Peter Morris Scientific Achievement of the Year
Gurdeep has been awarded a five-year Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship provides support for excellent individuals to develop a clinical academic research career through a period of postdoctoral training.
Amy Cross - NDS Early-stage Researcher of the Year
Amy is an early stage researcher with outstanding achievements and contributions to the field. She has an exceptional scientific output and enjoys mentoring and teaching students within the Translational Research Immunology Group (TRIG).
TRIG - NDS Team of the Year
TRIG has nurtured and is an incredibly supportive and kind environment for team members, continuing to train researchers and clinical academics, attracting new students and researchers to the group as well as providing support to a number of research labs across the Medical Sciences Division.
Jon Milton - NDS Technician of the Year
Jon shows real commitment to the team, and not just to the group he works in, but NDS as a whole. He has made a huge contribution to the success of the Oxford Transplant Biobank (OTB) and Quality in Organ Donation (QUOD).
Eleanor Wilson - NDS Administrative Professional of the Year
Eleanor acts as both the Graduate Studies Administrator and the MSc Integrated Immunology Administrator for NDS, having worked in these roles for five years. She is very dedicated, working efficiently to manage all of this, with exceptional attention to detail, ensuring that no deadlines are missed.
Guy Westwood - NDS Senior Administrative Professional of the Year
Guy is extremely knowledgeable in all things finance and the work that he does has a huge impact on the whole department. He is a great leader and extremely pragmatic which benefits every member of the department.
Rebecca Spiers - NDS Unsung Hero
As the facilities manager of the Islet Group, Rebecca is tasked with running both clinical and research operations. She is an exceptional manager, and has continuously helped the department through acts of volunteering.
Charles Malyon - NDS Unsung Hero
Charles is an exceptional member of SITU. Despite being a busy trial manager for EndoNET, he is always willing to help out others in the team with any issues they may be facing.