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Department of Medicine

Read more at: £6.7 million global award to prevent cardiovascular disease
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£6.7 million global award to prevent cardiovascular disease

17 June 2026

A major international coalition co-led by the University of Cambridge and Stanford Medicine has secured a grant of $9 million (approximately £6.7 million) to develop new approaches for predicting and preventing heart attacks and strokes.


Read more at: New ‘universal vaccine’ technology could protect us from future virus outbreaks

New ‘universal vaccine’ technology could protect us from future virus outbreaks

11 June 2026

Professor Krishna Chatterjee and colleagues at Cambridge have developed a way to engineer better vaccines that could provide broad protection from thousands of variants of viruses - such as coronaviruses or Ebola - in a single vaccine. This represents a fundamental new vaccine technology that could prevent future pandemics...


Read more at: Cambridge researchers map the human endocrine system cell by cell

Cambridge researchers map the human endocrine system cell by cell

29 May 2026

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have constructed the most comprehensive map to date of where hormones are made and where they work – the Hormone Cell Atlas .


Read more at: John McCafferty: The antibody pioneer

John McCafferty: The antibody pioneer

27 May 2026

Newly elected both as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Fellow of the Royal Society , John McCafferty has spent more than 3 decades transforming antibodies from natural defenders into medicines that have improved millions of lives.


Read more at: Structure of ancient viral protein offers new therapeutic possibilities in areas of cancer and autoimmunity
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Structure of ancient viral protein offers new therapeutic possibilities in areas of cancer and autoimmunity

7 May 2026

Nikos Nikolopoulos and Professor Yorgo Modis from the University of Cambridge Department of Medicine Molecular Immunity Unit have determined the atomic structure of the human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) envelope glycoprotein (Env), revealing structural features that could inform future therapeutic strategies...


Read more at: How individual consciousness works – and makes us unique

How individual consciousness works – and makes us unique

5 May 2026

Peter Coppola and Emmanuel A Stamatakis shared their latest findings from their Nature Communications Biology article on how the brain’s default mode network explains what makes each of us unique.


Read more at: Scientists identify ‘neural fingerprint’ of psychedelic drugs in the brain

Scientists identify ‘neural fingerprint’ of psychedelic drugs in the brain

7 April 2026

Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis (Medicine/Queens’ College) speaks to the Guardian about a study he has co-authored which identified a hallmark signature produced by psychedelic drugs in the human brain when users experience their mind-altering effects.


Read more at: New vulnerability identified in common kidney cancer could open door to new treatments

New vulnerability identified in common kidney cancer could open door to new treatments

13 March 2026

Published now in Nature Communications , the study led by James Bertlin , a CRUK-funded MBPhD student, and Professor James Nathan ( CITIID ) has uncovered a new target in the most common form of kidney cancer which offers a dual therapeutic benefit: selectively killing cancer cells while simultaneously activating the...


Read more at: Age-related blood cell mutations affect heart disease risk in different ways, study finds

Age-related blood cell mutations affect heart disease risk in different ways, study finds

11 March 2026

Cambridge researchers have revealed that different genetic changes in blood cells affect heart disease risk in sex-specific ways, highlighting the need for more targeted approaches to improve cardiovascular health. A study published in JCI Insight and led by Paul Carter, Lauren Kitt and Murray Clarke at the Department of...


Read more at: Women advancing medicine at Cambridge

Women advancing medicine at Cambridge

8 March 2026

On this International Women’s Day, we are celebrating some of the women across the Department of Medicine at Cambridge who are advancing research, improving patient care, and shaping the future of healthcare.


Researchers in the news

Clare Bryant (Medicine/Veterinary Medicine/Queens’ College) speaks to BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science about Google Co-Scientist. Clare was given early access to the AI system to hunt for molecular switches that cause severe diseases in humans when pathogens leap between species.


Clare Bryant (Medicine/Veterinary Medicine/Queens’ College) speaks to The Telegraph about inflammation, why it can cause problems and ways that we might lower levels of it in the body.


Ravi Gupta (Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease) talks to the Mirror about the new Covid-19 ‘Cicada’ variant, which appears to be better at evading the body’s immune defences.


Andrea Lavinio (Medicine) is to lead a trial to assess whether a targeted cooling collar can improve patients' recovery from traumatic brain injuries, according to BBC Online


Ian Wilkinson (Medicine) tells the Guardian that tackling high blood pressure earlier could give people many more years of healthy life. He argues that we should begin monitoring blood pressure in secondary school and encourage a reduction in people’s salt intake and obesity.


Ravi Gupta (CITIID) speaks to New Scientist about a person who was left HIV-free after a transplant of non-HIV resistant stem cells.


Miles Parkes and Nuru Noor (Medicine) led a study which showed that using biologic drugs soon after a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, rather than when symptoms worsen, is five times more effective at controlling the disease, as reported by the BBCRead more on the CUH website.


Clare Bryant (Medicine) spoke to the Financial Times about new research in which scientists have edited the genes of pigs to resist swine fever. She said that just as there is no will to vaccinate animals in some countries, there might also be reluctance to use gene editing.


Shuaib Nasser (Medicine) spoke to the Daily Mail about a new nasal spray developed to treat life-threatening allergic reactions that is now available in the UK, saying that its compactness and ease of use may make it more practical than current devices for administering adrenaline.


Sharon Peacock (PACE) appeared on the Naked Scientists Titans of Science podcast talking about her work on whole genome sequencing of pathogens such as MRSA and SARS CoV-2, and studies of antimicrobial resistance.


Mike Weekes (ImID) spoke to the Independent about the risks of warmer temperatures and altered rainfall patterns caused by climate change leading to a spread of tropical diseases to Europe and the UK.