Had a swab for COVID recently and wondering what happened to your sample, either in the lab or on one of the little test strips?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, testing for an infection with SARS-CoV-2 has been a crucial pillar in managing the outbreak. Several diagnostic tests are available, including PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and LFDs (Lateral Flow Devices). These tests detect different parts of the virus, and therefore have different profiles in terms of their accuracy and preferred use cases.

In this episode of COVID Questions, we talk to Prof. Monique Andersson, an infection consultant at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, about how these different tests work and when they are applicable. Tune in to find out more!

This interview took place on the 16th of April 2021.

Episode credits:

• Producer: Simon Lichtinger
• Interview: Roberta Wilkinson
• Editor: Ciaran Gilbride
• Research: Idil Cazimoglu
• Series producer: Emily Georgiades
• Music from https://www.zapsplat.com
• Artwork by https://lizmaygeorge.wixsite.com/mysite 

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve become accustomed to seeing senior scientists on the news discussing their research. But we rarely hear from Early Career Researchers (ECRs), who have made crucial contributions to understanding the virus.

In this episode of COVID Questions, we showcase the work of an Early Career Researcher. We interview Nazia Thakur, a PhD student in immunology, virology and vaccinology at the University of Oxford and The Pirbright Institute. Nazia explains her study of the susceptibility of animals to infection by the COVID-19 virus, as well as her work on antibody responses and what it’s like to do a PhD in her field during a pandemic. Tune in to find out more!

This interview took place on the 6th of May 2021.

Episode credits:

• Producer: Roberta Wilkinson
• Interview: Maisie Vollans
• Editors: Roberta Wilkinson and Emily Georgiades
• Series producer: Emily Georgiades
• Music from https://www.zapsplat.com
• Artwork by https://lizmaygeorge.wixsite.com/mysite 

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod.

It’s thought that COVID-19 probably originated in animals. But which animal did it come from? And what factors make disease transfer between animals and humans more likely?

In this episode we put our COVID questions to E.J. Milner-Gulland, Professor of Biodiversity at the University of Oxford and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science. Professor Milner-Gulland tells us about how degradation of habitats can increase the chances of viruses jumping between species, and shares her ideas for a safer and more sustainable wildlife trade. Tune in to find out more!

This interview took place on the 12th of March 2021.

Episode credits:

• Producer: Roberta Wilkinson
• Interview: Maisie Vollans
• Editor: Laura Steel
• Assistant Editor: Roberta Wilkinson
• Research: Laura Steel
• Series producer: Emily Georgiades
• Music from https://www.zapsplat.com
• Artwork by https://lizmaygeorge.wixsite.com/mysite 

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have been working around the clock to develop vaccines to prevent fatalities and the spread of the disease through the global population. Today, there are several different types of vaccines that have been licensed for use. How do these different types of vaccines work? How do we know they are safe? How flexible are they for adapting to new variants of the virus? 

In this episode we interview Professor Teresa Lambe, associate professor at The Jenner Institute, over the past year her research group has been pioneering working on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.  She speaks to her PhD student, Ciaran Gilbride, to answer our Covid Questions about vaccines. 

This interview took place on 21st March 2021.

Episode credits:

• Producer: Atreyi Chakrabarty
• Interview: Ciaran Gilbride
• Editor: Roberta Wilkinson
• Research: Anka Lucic, Laura Steel
• Series producer: Emily Georgiades
• Music from https://www.zapsplat.com
• Artwork by https://lizmaygeorge.wixsite.com/mysite 

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. 

Hello and welcome to Covid Questions!  The Academic Armchair podcast has teamed up with a fab group of PhD students from the University of Oxford to produce a series of bitesize episodes on Covid-19.  Throughout the pandemic we've been bombarded with information; as we're not all experts on vaccines, variants or zoonotic diseases, we thought we call a few of Oxford's leading Covid-19 researchers into the armchair to ask them our covid questions.  

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. Please tweet us or drop us an email if you'd like to get in touch (or to suggest any Covid Questions!) [email protected] 

Music from https://www.zapsplat.com

Artwork by https://lizmaygeorge.wixsite.com/mysite 

Today in the Academic Armchair we are joined by University of Oxford's Professor of Gene Regulation Jim Hughes.  He talks to us about the fascinating world of the non-coding genome, and how studying the regulatory genome can give an insight into the mechanism of common disease.  Ever wondered how start-up companies can be built from scientific innovations?  Tune in to learn more!

To read more about his research follow this link: https://www.imm.ox.ac.uk/research/units-and-centres/mrc-wimm-centre-for-computational-biology/groups/hughes-group

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. Please tweet us or drop us an email if you'd like to get in touch [email protected] 

Music: Bulbasound - Fashion Hip-Hop Instrumental (2019) - Provided by Jamendo

This week, to celebrate International Women's Day on Sunday, we chat with one of Oxford's leading biologists Prof. Alison Woollard. She talks to us about her fascinating research in which she uses microscopic nematode worms to study development and ageing, and what it's like to work in a Nobel Prize winning lab.  Prof. Woollard didn't set out to become a biologist, she tells us why you should follow your dreams and not be afraid to take chances in your career!

To read more about his research follow this link: https://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/research/woollard

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. Please tweet us or drop us an email if you'd like to get in touch [email protected] 

Music: Bulbasound - Fashion Hip-Hop Instrumental (2019) - Provided by Jamendo

Ever felt like you don't have time for a good nights sleep?  You'll never think that again after listening to this fascinating episode with University of Oxford's sleep expert Prof. Russell Foster! He explains to us why sleep is so important, the science behind out body clock and how he switched marine biology for neuroscience.  To read more about his research follow this link: https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/research/circadian-and-visual-neuroscience-foster

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. Please tweet us or drop us an email if you'd like to get in touch [email protected] 

Music: Bulbasound - Fashion Hip-Hop Instrumental (2019) - Provided by Jamendo

In this episode of the Academic Armchair we chat to Stuart Conway, Professor of organic chemistry at the University of Oxford.  We learn how chemistry can help us better understand biological systems, from the epigenetics of cancer, to drug targeting using light activated molecules. He also tells us about the exciting new interdisciplinary PhD programme (Chemistry in Cells) he has set up to train the next generation of budding scientists in his field.  If he wasn't a chemist, he'd be a rock star - tune in to find out more! 

If you want to learn more about the Conway group follow this link: http://conway.chem.ox.ac.uk/Welcome.html

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. Please tweet us or drop us an email if you'd like to get in touch [email protected] 

Music: Bulbasound - Fashion Hip-Hop Instrumental (2019) - Provided by Jamendo

Chatting to us about finding therapies for Motor Neuron Diseases, and how gap years transformed his career path, we're joined today in The Academic Armchair by Prof. Kevin Talbot.  We learn about how understanding genetics can reveal exciting new therapeutic targets to explore.  If this episode got you intrigued, find out more about about Prof. Talbot's research here: https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/research/oxford-motor-neuron-disease-centre

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcasts by following us on twitter @academicarmpod. Please tweet us or drop us an email if you'd like to get in touch [email protected] 

Music: Bulbasound - Fashion Hip-Hop Instrumental (2019) - Provided by Jamendo