The Department of Biology, established in 2022, is a science department in the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division. It was formed on 1 August 2022 after a merger between the Department of Plant Sciences and Department of Zoology. The department has two main buildings: Department of Biology (Mansfield Road) and Department of Biology (South Parks Road). It also has an additional field station, The John Krebs Field Station, based in

Wytham Wytham ( ) is a village and civil parish on the Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road ( A34). The nearest village is ...

Overview

The Department's research spans levels from molecules to ecosystems in order to address fundamental questions relating to

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

, plant molecular biology, disease biology, evolutionary mechanisms, conservation biology,

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, evolutionary developmental biology,

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and

animal behaviour Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

. This department also delivers the teaching of a undergraduate MBiol degree in biology. Within its research portfolio, the department incorporates several research institutes such as the

Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology The Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology (EGI), at Oxford University in England, is an academic body that conducts research in ornithology and the general field of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology, with an emphasis on understa ...

(EGI), the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU); as well as housing the Oxford University

Herbaria A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

. Several members of academic staff work within the Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research and were involved in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional partnerships and resources of the Department include the

Oxford University Museum of Natural History The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

, the Oxford

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and Arboretum, the John Krebs Field Station and Wytham Woods.

Research themes

Research at the Department of Biology is grouped into five broad and cross-cutting themes: * Behaviour &

Biomechanics Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

Conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

Evolutionary Biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes ( natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life ...

* Microbiology &

Infectious Disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

* Molecular

Plant Biology Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Notable staff

The following people of note are or have been associated with the Department: *

John Gurdon Sir John Bertrand Gurdon (born 2 October 1933) is a British developmental biologist. He is best known for his pioneering research in nuclear transplantation and cloning. He was awarded the Lasker Award in 2009. In 2012, he and Shinya Yamanaka ...

* Richard Dawkins * Charles Elton * E S Goodrich * Sunetra Gupta * Bill Hamilton * Sir Alistair Hardy *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...

(Former Head of Department) * Peter Holland (Former Head of Department) * John Krebs *

David Lack David Lambert Lack FRS (16 July 1910 – 12 March 1973) was a British evolutionary biologist who made contributions to ornithology, ecology, and ethology. His 1947 book, ''Darwin's Finches'', on the finches of the Galapagos Islands was a landm ...

* Sir E Ray Lankester * Bob May *

Angela McLean Angela McLean (born August 19, 1970) is an American politician and educator who served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Montana from February 10, 2014, to January 3, 2016. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, selected McLean in 2014 to replace ...

Desmond Morris Desmond John Morris FLS ''hon. caus.'' (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book '' The Naked Ape'', and for his televis ...

* E.J. Milner-Gulland (Former Head of Department) *

Chris Perrins Christopher Miles Perrins, (born 11 May 1935) is Emeritus Fellow of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford and Her Majesty's Warden of the Swans since 1993. Educat ...

John Pringle John Pringle may refer to: *John Pringle, Lord Haining (c. 1674–1754), Scottish landowner, judge and politician, shire commissioner for Selkirk 1702–07, MP for Selkirkshire 1708–29, Lord of Session *Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet (1707–1782) ...

Ben Sheldon Ben C. Sheldon is the Luc Hoffmann Chair in Field Ornithology and Director of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology of the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology. He was Head of the Department of Zoology between 2016 and 2021. Hi ...

(Former Head of Department) * Sir Richard Southwood *

Niko Tinbergen Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen (; ; 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988) was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning the or ...

* Liam Dolan * Nicholas Harberd * Jane A. Langdale * Chris J. Leaver * Steven A. Hill

History

The Department of Biology was formed from the merging of the former Departments of Plant Sciences and Zoology on the 1 August 2022. The former Department of Zoology, founded in 1860, was housed in the Tinbergen Building until it was demolished in Spring 2022. Designed in 1965 by Sir Leslie Martin (who also designed the Royal Festival Hall) and opened in 1971, the Tinbergen Building was a large

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

building housing over 1,600 staff and students. It was Oxford University's largest building at the time. In February 2017, university officials announced that the Tinbergen Building would be closed for two years and all research and teaching activities of the Department would be moved elsewhere. This was due to the discovery of more asbestos than had been previously known; too much than could be removed during necessary maintenance with the building remaining occupied. The former Department of Plant Sciences was formed from the Imperial Forestry Institute. The 'Imperial Forestry Institute' was formed from in 1924,; later it became the Commonwealth Forestry Institute from 1939. The Oxford Forestry Institute was incorporated and became the Department of Plant Sciences in 2002. In January 2021, the

Oxford City Council Oxford City Council is the lower-tier local government authority for the city of Oxford in England, providing such services as leisure centres and parking. Social Services, Education and Highways services (amongst others) are provided by Oxfor ...

approved the £200m construction of the Life and Mind Building, which will be the university's largest building project and house the Departments of Experimental Psychology and Biology. It will replace the Tinbergen Building on South Parks Road. The building will feature multiple laboratories, teaching and testing spaces providing research facilities for 800 students and 1200 researchers. Work started in 2021, with the building expected to open in 2025.

External links

Life and Mind Building website

References

{{reflist Departments of the University of Oxford Research institutes in Oxford