Oxford Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour

Oxford Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour
Name	Oxford Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour
Established	2008
Location	Oxford, England
Parent institution	University of Oxford
Director	Richard Marioni

Contents

Oxford Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour is a multidisciplinary research centre within the University of Oxford that integrates laboratories and research groups studying neural systems across species. The centre brings together investigators from diverse institutes including the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, the Department of Zoology, the Department of Psychiatry, the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology to investigate neural circuits underlying perception, cognition and behaviour. It interfaces with clinical and basic science organizations such as the John Radcliffe Hospital, the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and the European Research Council to translate findings across model organisms and human studies.

History

The centre was formed in the late 2000s drawing on legacy groups from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, the Department of Zoology, the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience to create a hub for systems neuroscience. Early contributors included laboratories with links to investigators associated with the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit and the Oxford Martin School. Over time the centre expanded collaborations with external partners such as the Max Planck Society, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Sanger Institute and the Francis Crick Institute, and it has hosted visiting scholars from institutions including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University and University College London.

Research spans comparative and translational approaches linking studies in Drosophila melanogaster, Mus musculus, Danio rerio and human cohorts. Themes include sensory processing studied using approaches from groups with ties to the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, motor control investigated alongside teams from the MRC Motor Neuron Disease Centre, cognitive circuits explored with collaborators from the Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain and decision-making examined in conjunction with researchers from the Institute for New Economic Thinking. The centre leverages technologies developed in partnership with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics and companies spun out with links to Oxford University Innovation.

Administrative governance involves representatives from the Medical Sciences Division (University of Oxford), the Divisional Secretariat, and chairs drawn from faculties such as the Department of Experimental Psychology and the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Leadership has included professors with profiles overlapping the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the European Research Council grantees and fellows affiliated to colleges such as Magdalen College, Oxford, Balliol College, Oxford and Christ Church, Oxford. The centre reports into university structures that coordinate with national funders including the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Laboratory infrastructure is distributed across sites such as the Sherrington Building, the New Biochemistry Building, and facilities near the John Radcliffe Hospital; core facilities include imaging suites compatible with technologies developed at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, electrophysiology rigs comparable to those used at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and genetics platforms with workflows influenced by the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Collaborative agreements exist with the NHS Foundation Trusts, the UK Biobank, and international consortia including the Human Brain Project and the Allen Institute. Exchange of personnel occurs with departments such as the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford and external partners at Caltech and the University of Cambridge.

The centre contributes to graduate education through programmes linked to the Doctoral Training Centre in Neuroscience and the Oxford Neuroscience Graduate School, and provides practical training for students from colleges including Somerville College, Oxford and St John's College, Oxford. Postgraduate courses interface with clinical training at the John Radcliffe Hospital and short-term fellowships are funded by organisations such as the Wellcome Trust and the European Molecular Biology Organization. Visiting scholar schemes involve exchanges with the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind and summer schools coordinated with the Gordon Research Conferences.

Centre investigators have published in leading journals such as Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Major outputs include circuit-level descriptions of sensory pathways building on methods from laboratories associated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, neurogenomics studies intersecting with work from the Sanger Institute, and translational projects linked to trials at the John Radcliffe Hospital and initiatives with the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. Awards and recognition received by affiliated scientists include grants and fellowships from the Wellcome Trust, European Research Council Advanced Grants, memberships of the Royal Society, prizes from the Royal Society of Biology and honours such as election to the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Category:University of Oxford research institutes