The fifth annual meeting of Oxosome was held during the afternoon of Monday 13 November 2023 in the Academic Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
The talks nicely showcased the quality and breadth of extracellular vesicle research across Oxford, with speakers from a wide range of departments. The programme focussed on early career researchers, including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Talks ranged from fundamental science (Bhavna Verma, DPAG) to clinically focused studies involving EVs in cardiovascular disease (Lewis Timms, RDM), endometriosis (Yifan Wang, WRH), cancer (Kate Friesen, Oncology) and neurodegenerative diseases (Lizzie Dellar and Victor [Shijun] Yan, NDCN).
There was also a series of 12 flash presentations, which featured speakers from Plant Sciences and Oxford Brookes. The final talk was given by Camille De Villiers - a final year PhD student in Molly Stevens’ lab, which is currently moving from Imperial College to the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery on South Parks Road. Camille overviewed the EV-related research and relevant technologies used in Molly’s lab.
A post-meeting drinks reception in WRH enabled participants to network and discuss collaborative opportunities, as well as look ahead to Oxosome 2024 and the possibility that Oxford might host the annual meeting of the UK Society for Extracellular Vesicles (UKEV) in the near future.
Special thanks
Staff from the Women's & Reproductive Health department provided valuable logistical help; including Izzie Way, James Matejtschuk, Tony Nobes, Simon Lewington, Daniellle Hoare, Rob Phillips, Lesley Cockrem, Archie Buchanan and Lewis Thomson.
Generous sponsorship from Analytik, IZON, NanoFCM and Unchained Labs enabled the meeting to be held free of charge.
About Oxosome
Oxosome is a group formed in 2016 for local researchers with an interest in exosomes and other extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are now known to have important roles in communication between cells in both health and disease.
There is considerable interest in using these vesicles to diagnose and also to treat a wide range of diseases, including those associated with women’s reproductive health disorders, such as endometriosis and pre-eclampsia.
The Oxosome Committee consists of Bec Dragovic (WRH), Naveed Akbar (RDM), Lizzie Dellar (NDCN), Jen Southcombe (WRH) and Deborah Goberdhan (WRH).