There is increasing attention being paid to the ability of data to help us deliver better patient and population outcomes while optimising resource utilisation. How much of this is hope, how much is real and how much is hype?

Come to this panel session organised by the Value Based Healthcare Programme, Dept of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford and hear experts from health and care systems in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and England give a balanced perspective on the role data has played in improving the health of citizens in their countries.

Panelists
Prof Milena Vainieri: Sant’Anna Institute of Advanced Studies, Pisa
Dr Kathrin Fischer: Charite Hospital, Berlin
Mr Onno van der Galien: Zilveren Kruis, Achmea, Utrecht
Dr Abraham George: Kent County Council, Kent

Chair
Dr Anant Jani: Value Based Healthcare Programme, University of Oxford

Image: “Big Data” by TRIADA STUDIO, Hasmik Mkhchyan, artashes stamboltsyan is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

This talk will share information about Al-Anon Family Groups and how the Al-Anon process works with the problem drinker and their family. We are privileged to have the opportunity to hear personal experience of living with a problem drinker in the family, and how attending Al-Anon meetings has helped.

This talk will be given by Nicky T., a former service user and volunteer for Al-Anon.

Nicky T. is a grateful member of Al-Anon Family Groups for over twenty years. Nicky is a volunteer for Al-Anon in various admin roles, and on the national helpline, including assisting with public information about the fellowship.

Elevating science from the lab to the stage, we bring you the FameLab Regional Final. Our brave and brilliant finalists tread the boards to electrify us with their scientific stagecraft: they have just three minutes to explain a scientific concept or idea without the use of Powerpoint – armed only with their wit and a few props. Previous topics have included climate change, neuroscience and particle physics. There’s not a moment to be missed at the FameLab Oxfordshire Regional Final as our challengers aim for the performance of their lives and compete to represent Oxford at the UK final.

Famelab is an international science communication competition designed to find the talented new voices of science and engineering.

Dr Cairns discusses the successes of, and challenges for contemporary cohort studies, and some of the ways in which the challenges can be met.

Cohort studies follow people over time to investigate causes and risk factors of disease and other health-related outcomes. They have played key roles in the history of epidemiology and public health, and contemporary cohorts such as the UK Biobank are vital sources of observational data for many different fields of medical research. Large cohort studies assemble many different types of data on participant health, behaviour, environment and genetics, enabled by efficient methods of recruitment, measurement, and follow-up through administrative datasets. However, these methodological features of cohort studies also present challenges for data analysis, particularly selection biases, measurement error, and questions of causality. This lecture will discuss the successes of and challenges for contemporary cohort studies, and some of the ways in which the challenges can be met.

Dr Benjamin Cairns is a Nuffield Department of Population Health Senior Research Fellow, working in the MRC Population Health Research Unit. His research trajectory started outside of health sciences, studying mathematical models in ecology and conservation. He then joined the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, and has since worked on epidemiological studies in cohorts such as the Million Women Study and the UK Biobank. His current research interests are in aortic valve disease and other cardiovascular diseases, multimorbidity, and research methods in epidemiology.

This talk is given as part of the graduate programmes in Evidence-Based Healthcare, Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.

Talk, followed by walking tour of the park. Jane Kilsby, local historian shares her
recent research into this well-loved 19th century public park. Maximum 20

Adults make choices regarding the technology they use to self-manage their health and wellbeing, and these technologies are often adopted, used and abused in ways that researchers, manufacturers, and clinicians have not accounted for. This talk will give an overview of human-computer interaction qualitative research on the real world use of mobile technologies in people’s everyday lives. Accounting for individual health and wellbeing choices adults make with technology, supporting choices through end user customisation, and the emerging trend towards Do-It-Yourself open-source health and wellbeing technology will be discussed. Examples of pragmatic qualitative studies will be given from research on wearables, apps, and standalone devices used for Type 1 diabetes, hearing loss, baby monitoring, and physical fitness.

Dr Aisling O’Kane is a Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction for Health and Deputy Director of the EPSRC CDT in Digital Health and Care at the University of Bristol. As a member of the Bristol Interaction Group and the Digital Health Engineering Group, she uses a pragmatic approach to qualitative research of health, wellbeing and care technologies. Dr O’Kane is currently PI of Innovate UK Machine Learning for Diabetes, co-designing AI to support diabetes self-management and Co-I of EPSRC SPHERE Next Steps, co-designing smart home technology to support health at home.

This talk is being held as part of the Advanced Qualitative Research Methods course which is part of the Evidence-Based Health Care Programme. This is a free event and members of the public are welcome to attend.

Lecture by Linda Farrar, a freelance researcher, lecturer and author of Ancient Roman Gardens. The art of gardening has a long history, with gardens being used in most ancient cultures to enhance living areas, and even public spaces. We will look at examples from a range of ancient societies. Pay at the door or book online

Tea/coffee, biscuits on arrival in the Committee Room. Introductory talk from Sophie Huxley, Gardener, LMH, followed by tour of the garden. Parking for 5 cars only (priority to Blue Card holders). Maximum 20 persons

The world faces many challenges, climate change, systemic racism, a crisis of leadership and the pandemic. As governments, business and organisations pivot to survive can the social impact sector do the same? What’s changed and what hasn’t in this vitally important space?

We have brought together experts in the field to share their experience and shine a light on the way forward. To reflect on any changes to their approach to social impact work, to share what they are seeing around the world, what’s worked and what the future holds for those who work in this area or are about to embark on a career in it.

Join Marya Besharov and our panel of experts for an interesting discussion.

Marya Besharov – Professor of Organisations and Impact, Saïd Business School

The panel:

• Shivani Garg Patel, Chief Strategy Officer, Skoll Foundation
• Meng Zhao, Associate Professor, NTU Singapore
• Francois Bonnici, Director and Head, Schwab Foundation
• Marc Ventresca – Associate Professor of Strategic Management, Saïd Business School

Leadership in Extraordinary Times: SmartSpace: the new frontier

How will the commercialisation of space impact our everyday lives?

The world faces many challenges, climate change, racism and the pandemic. There are also many great opportunities that will benefit us all. How can business harness the enormous potential the commercialisation of space offers, and what will it deliver in terms of benefits here on earth?

We have brought together experts in the field to share their experience where business, innovation and entrepreneurship meet. They will look at what the future holds for those who work in this area or are about to embark on a career in it.

The event will be hosted by Marc Ventresca, Associate Professor of Strategic Management and the panel will be moderated by Lucas Kello, Associate Professor of International Relations at Oxford and an expert in space, and cyber governance.

Panel

Eamonn Molloy, Associate Fellow Oxford, expert in major programs
Renee Rottner, Assistant Professor UC Santa Barbara, expert in NASA innovation
Dan Sola, Space entrepreneur and Oxford Said alumni
Lucy Edge, Chief Operating Officer of Satellite Applications Catapult
Greg Autry, Vice President of Space Development, and Board member at the National Space Society

Visit https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/oxford-answers/smartspace-new-frontier at the specified time to watch the live stream. A recording will be posted on the website when the broadcast finishes.

Friday 23 October

Lecture by Advolly Richmond. Thomas Birch was a trained botanist, and
head gardener at Orwell Park, Ipswich, before travelling to the Gold Coast.
He became part of the international network of correspondents and plant
collectors relied upon by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. This talk aims to
reveal the true extent of Birch Freeman’s horticultural and botanical legacy.
Pay at the
door: £5 (members) £8 (guests

We are please to announce this s really important symposium on athlete welfare and the Duty to Care in sport with @oxford_brookes @OBUSportCourses in partnership with
@_UKCoaching

Speakers to include Tanni) Carys Davina Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson
Cath Bishop, rower and Olympic silver medallist and Andy Burns (commonwealth athlete and English Institute of Sport.

This is a free virtual event but booking is essential http://bit.ly/athlete-z

Join Professor Chas Bountra, Professor of Translational Medicine and Professor Sir Charles Godfray as they discuss how the healthcare system has had to adapt due to the Covid-19 pandemic and what this means in the future.

How do you build inclusion from the ground up?

People with albinism face discrimination across the globe but are often left out of activist efforts around diversity and inclusion.

In this episode, we speak to representatives of Sesame Street Workshop, who have been championing diversity for years. With a breadth of expertise in the art of embracing diversity, this insightful look into the world of Sesame Street gives us new ways of approaching our goals. Supermodel and activist Diandra Forrest also joins the conversation. Fellow guest speaker Stephan Bognar, Executive Director of New York Dermatology Group Foundation, completes the line-up. They worked together previously on the Colorfull campaign, which was conceived by NYDG to highlight the prejudice that albinism attracts.

The current covid-19 pandemic has focussed attention on the variability in personal risk of serious illness. After age and ethnicity, one of the most important factors associated with developing serious covid complications, requiring admission to hospital or ICU, is being overweight.

Professor Susan Jebb is a nutrition scientist with a special interest in designing and testing public health interventions to prevent and treat obesity. In this conversation, we shall explore the policy options available to governments and other bodies to tackle obesity and ask whether, as we emerge from the pandemic, there will be a new focus on the benefits of a healthy body weight.

Lecture by Hanna Zembrzycka-Kisiel, Principal Major Applications Officer at
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse Councils. Hanna uses the research
insights of her recent MA Thesis to explore the reality of poor urban design
and the benefits of green spaces in our living environments, drawing on local
and international urban design projects for inspiration. Book online or pay at the door.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a defining event of the 21st century.

New technologies such as ubiquitous smartphones and virus genome sequencing offer powerful new ways to understand virus transmission and to tackle the problem of epidemic spread. But can those new tools be deployed fast enough to make a real difference to public health? And can we balance the need for privacy with the life-saving benefits of understanding how transmission occurs?

Join Prof Christophe Fraser of Oxford’s Big Data Institute, who advises the UK’s NHS COVID-19 Tracing app, and Prof Oliver Pybus, Lead Researcher of the Oxford Martin School Programme on Pandemic Genomics, as they discuss the opportunities and challenges of successfully applying new technologies to pandemics past, present, and future.

Join the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences for their annual research lecture, delivered by Dame Professor Louise Robinson. The biggest risk factor for developing dementia is age, with dementia now the most common cause of death in women over 65 years of age in the United Kingdom (UK). Our ageing populations mean that the number of people with dementia globally is predicted to rapidly increase, although research from the UK and Europe has shown that modification of key lifestyle factors may positively influence this. Over the last decade, the UK has had a strong policy focus on dementia, initially via a National Dementia Strategy and followed by Prime Minister’s National Dementia Challenge. This led to the creation of the unique £200 million UK National Dementia Research Institute, with a main focus on finding the ‘cure’ and/or novel dementia drug therapies. Professor Robinson will discuss why future research should be as equally focused on improving the quality of dementia care and targeting future prevention as exploring the elusive cure.

This event is for: Everyone

With COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, attention again returns to the contentious topic of whether vaccination should be made mandatory.

Recent polling has resulted in worrying headlines about a lack of willingness to have a COVID-19 vaccine if it were available.

Are mandates the answer to ensure vaccine high uptake to end the pandemic? While still a hypothetical scenario, without yet having a safe and effective vaccine approved for use, this could change in the coming months. The question of introducing mandatory vaccination spans considerations of personal liberty, health decision-making, public health and policy, as well as the relationship between the state and its citizens. Join Professor Julian Savulescu and Dr Samantha Vanderslott to debate the ethical and public policy arguments for and against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.

Join Peter Drobac as he interviews Paul Farmer, in an exploration of the lessons we can learn from Paul Farmer’s phenomenal new book, Fevers, feuds and diamonds: Ebola and the ravages of history.

We will reflect on how these lessons can help us tackle the current Covid-19 pandemic and discuss how inequality and exploitation fuelled the spread of a deadly virus and how we might finally learn from history, in order to build a healthier, more equitable world.

For more details, visit https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/events/fevers-feuds-and-diamonds-dr-paul-farmer-future-global-health

Join us live or watch the recording on: https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/oxford-answers

This event and open to all Registration not required.

Daniel Burt presents the board games created — and played with the public — during the Literary History of Medicine project, looks at the wider process of creating games, and reveals how they can be used to engage everyone with what we discover through academic research.

Lecture by Jane Owen, preceded by OGT’s Christmas drinks party.
Jane Owen, Founder Member of OGT, avid gardener, garden historian and
previously Deputy Editor of the Financial Times, gives us her personal take on
garden history – not to be missed! Doors open 6.30pm for wine or juice (inc), for lecture at 7pm. Book online or pay at the door.
door

What can we call a science? And what makes it science? Dr Taha Yasin Arslan of Medeniyet University, Istanbul challenges us to rethink the history of science, proposing new definitions for the term “science”.

Join us — and share your ideas.
​​​​​​

‘Microscopy and Magnetic Materials: Exploring Energy Landscapes at the Nanoscale’ by Professor Amanda Petford-Long FREng (Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University.

The Department of Materials is delighted to host this virtual event by our alumna, Professor Petford-Long. Please email communications@materials.ox.ac.uk to register, and to receive the Team Live link to log-on to this free event.

The first discussion in the Oxford Net Zero Series, hosted by the Oxford Martin School, hones in on the fundamental motivation of the research programme: ‘Why net zero?’.

Join the Oxford Net Zero Initiative’s Research Director, Professor Sam Fankhauser; Director, Professor Myles Allen; Net Zero Policy Engagement Fellow, Kaya Axelsson as they discuss with the Chair, Executive Director. Dr Steve Smith, the meaning of the word ‘net’ in net zero, reviewing what is needed to mitigate global warming, as and before we fully phase out activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions.

The discussion will explore the framing opportunities and challenges that the term ‘net-zero’ offers for science, policy, and advocacy informing effective climate action, as well as the innovation required at scale to achieve the global goal.

To register and watch this talk live: www.crowdcast.io/e/net-zero-when-and-how

The talk will also be streamed via YouTube here: https://youtu.be/z6049wR0tfE, but please note you will not be able to take part in the interactive Q&A session unless you join the talk on CrowdCast.

Covid-19 killed around two million people in 2020. At the same time, the social and economic impact of the pandemic led to an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the biggest one-year decline on record.

As the pandemic is brought under control from 2021 onwards, by supplementing current control methods with vaccination, there are big opportunities to sustain the benefits of lower emissions for health and well-being. The direct benefits are fewer droughts, floods, heatwaves, storms and wildfires, and cleaner air. Indirect health benefits are expected from better nutrition, safe sanitation, energy-efficient health services, and jobs in the green economy, among others.

In this conversation, Sir Andy Haines (Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) and Chris Dye (Professor of Epidemiology, University of Oxford) consider how better health and well-being are an both argument for, and a consequence of, making progress towards “net zero” carbon emissions.

To register and watch this talk live: www.crowdcast.io/e/building-back-healthier

The talk will also be streamed via YouTube here: https://youtu.be/xy3xkB9q8Ds, but please note you will not be able to take part in the interactive Q&A session unless you join the talk on CrowdCast.

The failure to stem the tide of biodiversity loss, or to address the deeply related issue of climate change, demands we quickly find more ambitious and more coherent approaches to tackling these challenges.

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are one such family of approaches that has recently gained prominence in international policy and business discourse. Broadly defined as actions that involve working with nature to address societal goals, NbS are being widely hailed as a win-win for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. However, this win-win scenario is not guaranteed.

Some NbS – particularly those involving planting trees in naturally treeless habitats – can have negative outcomes for climate change mitigation, biodiversity and local peoples’ livelihoods. There are also critical questions around the timeframes over which NbS can help tackle the biodiversity and climate crises given the negative impacts of warming on the health of the biosphere.

In the second discussion in the Oxford Net Zero Series, hosted by the Oxford Martin School, Professor Nathalie Seddon, will bring together interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners to explore the value and limits of working with nature to address climate change and why NbS must both support biodiversity and be implemented with, by and for people, if they are to provide benefits over the longterm.

To register and watch this talk live: www.crowdcast.io/e/nature-climate-change

The talk will also be streamed via YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Ka7Sc5d1v3k, but please note you will not be able to take part in the interactive Q&A session unless you join the talk on CrowdCast.

Amanda Oates (Executive Director of Workforce, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Kristina Brown (Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University) will be speaking on the story of the Just and Learning Culture at Mersey Care NHS Trust.

In recent years, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust has undergone a radical shift in workplace culture and organisational procedures. They have gone from a blame culture to a culture where staff feel empowered and supported to learn from incidents. Numbers of disciplinary and suspension cases went down, staff reporting of adverse incidents went up, and there were positive effects on staff retention and levels of sickness absence.

Restorative justice was integral to these changes, termed the ‘Just and Learning Culture’. Amanda Oates and Kristina Brown will reflect on the impact of the restorative just culture at Mersey Care and help us to understand how other organisations can adopt a similar approach.

This event will be held online via Zoom (link TBA). Please contact joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk for more information.

You can register for this this event on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/restorative-just-culture-the-story-of-mersey-care-nhs-trust-tickets-146564629753

Dr Rachel Clarke, NHS palliative care doctor and bestselling author will be in conversation with the audience, discussing life on the NHS frontlines and asking what the response to the pandemic can tell us about government, the media and ourselves.