Stephen Fisher’s research into political attitudes and behaviour has produced election forecasting models widely used in the media nationally and internationally. He recently served as academic lead for the UNDP People’s Climate Vote Survey – the largest-ever survey of public opinion towards climate change. The survey has already generated discussion among governments internationally looking at climate and green recovery. 

James McDougall’s research interests in Middle Eastern, African, and colonial history come together in his focus on Algeria, Africa’s largest country. His book A History of Algeria has won wide acclaim and was co-winner of the £10,000 BKFS Prize for the best scholarly work on the Middle East. He is a frequent commentator on North African politics in national and international media, and is now working on books on the French empire in Africa and the global history of Islam. 

Dame Frances Ashcroft is a globally renowned physiologist whose research has significantly advanced our understanding of insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells in both health and disease. She discovered a key step in the process by which an increase in the blood sugar level after a meal leads to secretion of the hormone insulin. Her work on neonatal diabetes enabled children born with this rare genetic form of diabetes to switch from insulin injections to tablet therapy. The author of a number of textbooks and popular science books, she has received numerous international awards for her work.

Janina Dill co-directs the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict and she is an internationally-recognised expert on the role of law and morality in conflict. Her research develops theories about how international law can be an instrument of morality in war, albeit an imperfect one, and seeks to explain how moral and legal norms affect the reality of war. She is a winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize for researchers ‘whose work has had international impact and whose future research career is exceptionally promising.’