Our Research - Jesus College

Within the Jesus College Fellowship are many world-class academics, working at the boundaries of interdisciplinary research that has a global impact.

They are focused on vital research to address the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, from the environmental and societal impact of climate change to new therapies to target diseases such as cancer. Our Principal, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt FRS FREng (left) is a world-leading researcher in the rapidly-expanding field of computer science and artificial intelligence (AI).

Many also explore the past; investigating our political, social and cultural history; from the languages, literature and arts of the classical world to the political turbulence of the Tudor period; from the Age of Enlightenment to the Age of Information.

In this section, we celebrate the academic work of our Fellowship across the Medical Sciences, Social Sciences, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences and Humanities.

Transforming lives through medical research

Academics such as Professor Yvonne Jones FRS (left), a Professorial Fellow in Medicine at Jesus College, are working at the cutting edge of medical research.

Across disciplines, research institutes, countries and continents, our scientific Fellows are exploring novel approaches to saving and improving lives; understanding more about our world and the universe, and developing solutions to emerging issues that affect us all. Click on the links below to find out more.

POPULATION HEALTH: REDUCING THE RISK OF OBESITY-RELATED DISEASES

CHEMISTRY: CLEANER, GREENER CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

CANCER RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF CELL SIGNALLING

Climate change and the environment

Professor Tim Palmer CBE FRS (right) is Royal Society Research Professor in Climate Physics, and a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College.

An internationally-renowned meteorologist with a particular interest in the predictability and dynamics of the weather and climate. Tim’s work has led to the development of forecasting techniques which have been implemented by the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and are now standard in weather and climate prediction around the world. He’s just one of several College Fellows working to understand more about climate change and its impact on our lives and environments.

MODELLING CLIMATE CHANGE – PREDICTING THE FUTURE OF THE WEATHER

THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SMALL ISLAND STATES

Legal scholarship in the Information Age

Dr Talita de Souza Dias (left) is the Shaw Foundation Junior Research Fellow in Law at Jesus College. Her research focuses on the phenomenon of online hate speech from an international legal and policy perspective. She’s exploring the extent to which different international legal rules, including international human rights law, require states to prevent expressions of hatred, violence and discrimination online, and how they hold to account those responsible.

Like Talita, all our Law Fellows work at the boundaries of the subject, from Corporate and Property Law to Domestic Criminal Law and Human Rights Law.

ONLINE HATE SPEECH FROM AN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY PERSPECTIVE

Exploring other planets and the potential for life beyond Earth

Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert FRS (left) is Halley Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, and Professorial Fellow at Jesus College.

His research explores the physics of climate of planets – including Earth – covering the past four billion years of the Universe and the next several billion years, extending from the Solar System out to the newly discovered exoplanets.

Making fusion power a reality

Nuclear fusion has the potential to revolutionise the energy sector as a clean and sustainable power source. Dr Suchandrima Das (right), is Career Development Fellow in Engineering at Jesus College and along with a team of fellow researchers and colleagues from the University of Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science and Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, is exploring new materials with the enhanced radiation resistance needed to make fusion power a reality.

READ MORE ABOUT SUCHANDRIMA’S RESEARCH

Chaucer’s places in time: a new biographical lens

Professor Marion Turner (left) is Associate Professor and Tutorial Fellow in English at Jesus College. Her research focuses on late medieval secular literature and history, especially Chaucer. Her multi-award-winning book, Chaucer: A European Life, was the first biography of Chaucer in a generation, and sheds new light on the poet’s extraordinary life as a diplomat, a poetic innovator, a great traveller and an MP.

Marion is just one of our exceptional Fellows bringing to life the great figures of literature, history and philosophy in new and innovative ways.

PROFESSOR CAROLINE WARMAN ON FRENCH PHILOSOPHER DENIS DIDEROT

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