News

Koushikk Ayyappan, a fourth-year student of Clinical Medicine at Christ Church, has received the 2025 John Potter Essay Prize for his paper ‘Measuring glymphatic function: assessing the toolkit’. The annual prize is open to clinical students at the University of Oxford who are preparing for their second Bachelor of Medicine examinations, and is awarded for an essay on a neurosurgical, neurological, or neuropathological topic.

On Thursday 8 May, Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FRCA FMedSci MAE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and an Honorary Student of Christ Church, delivered a speech to London’s Royal Society entitled ‘The Critical Role of Higher Education in Shaping Tomorrow’s World’. The first in a series of lectures taking place across the globe to mark the 500th Anniversary of the founding of Christ Church, Professor Tracey began the presentation with a question: ‘What does the next 500 years look like?’

Christ Church, University of Oxford is delighted to announce the winners of the 2025 Christopher Tower Poetry Competition, the most lucrative prize for young poets (16–18) in the UK.

Last month, the 18th International Roman Law Moot Court (IRLMC) was held at the University of Oxford. Since 2008, the annual competition has brought together undergraduate teams and academics from eight leading European universities to conduct research and present legal arguments on complex issues of Roman private law. The Moot offers talented students the opportunity to showcase their skills internationally and promotes ties between legal systems based on the Roman legal tradition like those in continental Europe and those that are not, such as the common law systems of England and Australia.

On Friday 25 April, Christ Church was honoured to receive a delegation from Ukraine, led by the nation’s Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko and Deputy Energy Minister Roman Andarak. The ministers visited the College to learn about SHIELD, an FCDO-funded research initiative overseen by Christ Church’s Professor Stephanie Hirmer that focuses on assessing the potential of green hydrogen and ammonia within Ukraine’s energy system. They also took the opportunity to meet with current University of Oxford students from Ukraine.

Yesterday we were delighted to celebrate over ten years of support provided by a local learning centre to young people in Oxford. The centre, operated by the national charity IntoUniversity in collaboration with Christ Church and the University of Oxford, was officially launched in Blackbird Leys in February 2014 and has since supported more than 5,800 young people from the local area through academic support sessions, workshops, mentoring and university visits.

Last month leading policymakers, researchers and practitioners from the energy and transport infrastructure sectors gathered at the Christ Church Research Centre for an informative and impactful workshop on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) in Energy and Transport Infrastructure. Convened by Climate Compatible Growth, the event brought together voices from policymaking, finance, academia, international development and civil society organisations to explore how infrastructure projects can better serve diverse communities.

From 8 to 10 April, Christ Church hosted a conference bringing together members of the Queer Kinship Network. The international research group is led by Christ Church Tutor in Modern Languages Professor Charlotte Ross, together with Professor Silvia Antosa of Università per Stranieri di Siena and Professor Paolo Frascà of the University of Toronto. We caught up with Professor Ross to learn more. 

Dr Sarah Birkhoelzer, a DPhil student in Medical Sciences at Christ Church, proudly represented the College at last month’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) Conference – one of the most prestigious international cardiology meetings. Dr Birkhoelzer, who is also a Cardiology Registrar and Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, presented innovative research into the use of advanced imaging techniques to assess heart function.

London’s Cypriot High Commission recently hosted a panel discussion on the topic of peace-making in Cyprus, filmed by Hellenic TV. Among those scholars on the panel was Christ Church Geography undergraduate Ethan Chandler, who was invited to share the findings of research conducted in Cyprus for his third-year dissertation.

The Trinidadian–Scottish poet Professor Anthony Vahni Capildeo FRSL, a former English student at Christ Church, has been announced as one of eight winners of this year’s Windham-Campbell Prize. Through the prize – one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards – Yale University honours writers from across the globe for their exceptional achievements and promise, giving each $175,000 to support their continued work.

A recent publication in leading science journal Nature Communications offers novel insights into the function of star-like cells – or ‘astrocytes’ – in the brain, and how they govern the function of brain nerve cells. The article is the product of interdisciplinary collaboration between University of Oxford researchers, including two Christ Church academics, Tutor in Medicine Professor Stephanie Cragg and Tutor in Mathematics Professor Kevin McGerty. 

For well over a decade our Head Gardener John James has maintained and enriched our precious green spaces, leading our Gardens Team through a period of change in which sustainability and nature have taken centre stage. His work has brought joy to thousands of students and staff members who have delighted in the beauty of our gardens, and to millions of visitors from across the globe who have wandered and relaxed in Christ Church Meadow over the years. 

After 13 years of service, John has decided that the time is right to retire. Read on for some of his career highlights.

A recording has been released of Christ Church alumnus Charlie Lovell-Jones (2017, Music) performing the work of another alumnus: celebrated composer Sir William Walton (1902–83). The recording features Lovell-Jones as the soloist in Walton's Violin Concerto, joined by the Sinfonia of London and conductor John Wilson. 

The Oxford Torpids is one of two annual series of rowing 'bumps' between University of Oxford colleges: races in which each boat strives to catch up with and bump the boat ahead, while avoiding being caught by a pursuing boat. This year's Torpids took place from 26 February to 1 March and saw teams from every Oxford college speed along a 1,500m stretch of the River Isis. Tom Harris, second-year student of Law at Christ Church and member of our Men's First VIII, describes his experience of the four-day event. 

On 28 February Muslims the world over began observing Ramadan, a month of prayer, fasting and reflection. At Christ Church, we marked the beginning of the holy month with our very first Iftar – an evening meal that breaks the daily fast. The main organiser of the event, fourth-year student of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Mikyle Ossman, tells us more.

Every year Christ Church holds Arts Week, six days of culture and entertainment centred around the work of our very own Fine Art students. A couple of weeks on from Arts Week 2025, undergraduate Arts Rep Neha Jamal tells us what went on this year.  

UK LGBT+ History Month was established in 2005 and has been celebrated each February for the past 20 years, offering a chance to recognise the tremendous contributions of LGBT+ people to all areas of life throughout history. As February 2025 drew to a close, we caught up with our undergraduate LGBTQ+ Representatives Cathryn Head and Vita Bannister to find out how the occasion was marked at Christ Church.

A paper on molecular dynamics by two Christ Church academics has appeared in The Journal of Chemical Physics. The article, concerning the behaviour of microscopic particles in suspensions, is the product of collaboration between Christ Church’s Dr Clare Rees-Zimmerman and Professor Dirk Aarts, together with researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid and Durham University. 

Christ Church is delighted to announce that Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE has been elected to an Honorary Studentship. The election recognises his commitment to education and musicianship.

Professor Freeman-Attwood is the 14th Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, a post he has held since 2008.

Not for the first time, doomsday warnings of a cataclysmic asteroid impact that will wipe out life on Earth are circulating the internet. Christ Church's Professor Stephen Smartt, a member of the NASA funded ATLAS project which first spotted Asteroid 2024 YR4, explains the significance of this discovery.

Thanks to the generosity of Majid Boustany, President of the Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation, a new scholarship has been created for graduate students coming to the University of Oxford to study for a masters degree in History of Art and Visual Culture. 

One of the world’s largest privately held collection of letters, photographs, books, illustrations and other materials by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–98), known internationally under the pen name 'Lewis Carroll', has been donated to Christ Church. The unique collection was gifted by the American businessman, philanthropist, book collector and author–editor Jon A. Lindseth, who also donated historically important works by the English artist, poet, author and musician Edward Lear (1812–88). 

At Christ Church, we began our 500th anniversary year by scouring the latest New Year Honours List for members of our College community. We are delighted to disclose that four of our alumni have made it onto this year’s list. Read on to learn about these remarkable individuals and their celebrated achievements and service.