Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at University of Oxford for 2026
Research at the University of Oxford continues to span the many ways neuroscience connects brain function, behavior, and mental health. The recent work sampled here shows a department engaged with everything from cognition and imaging to psychiatry, stimulation, and sensory experience.
Below, you’ll find a closer look at researchers whose recent publications reflect that breadth. Together, their work points to an active community asking how the brain organizes perception, movement, motivation, and treatment.
Featured Researchers
Charles Spence
Charles Spence’s recent work at the University of Oxford explores multisensory perception, haptic feedback, and crossmodal experience across experimental and cognitive psychology.
Activity over the last year: 17 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Morten L. Kringelbach
Morten L. Kringelbach focuses on cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging, with recent publications on whole-brain dynamics, meditation, and DMT.
Activity over the last year: 25 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Human brain dynamics are shaped by rare long-range connections over and above cortical geometry (Jan 2025)
- Investigating the complex cortical dynamics of an advanced concentrative absorption meditation called jhanas (ACAM-J): a geometric eigenmode analysis (Feb 2025)
- Transient destabilization of whole brain dynamics induced by N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (Mar 2025)
Catherine J. Harmer
Catherine J. Harmer’s recent publications at the University of Oxford link pharmacology with cognitive and mental health questions, including GLP-1 receptor agonists, emotion processing, and motivation in Parkinson’s disease.
Activity over the last year: 19 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- An analysis on the role of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in cognitive and mental health disorders (Feb 2025)
- “Invisible Dangers”: Unconscious processing of angry vs fearful faces and its relationship to subjective anger (Mar 2025)
- Dopamine Boosts Motivation for Prosocial Effort in Parkinson's Disease (Jan 2025)
Charlotte J. Stagg
Charlotte J. Stagg’s work spans neurology, cognitive neuroscience, and imaging, including ultrasound neuromodulation, transcranial electrical stimulation, and movement-related cortical activity.
Activity over the last year: 14 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Rachel Upthegrove
Rachel Upthegrove’s recent research connects psychiatry, biological psychiatry, and cognitive neuroscience through work on GLP-1 receptor agonists, prediction models, and psychiatric energy metabolism.
Activity over the last year: 18 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Thomas Parr
Thomas Parr’s publications range from open-source neuroimaging software to active inference and attention, reflecting a cognitive neuroscience profile with pharmacology and molecular medicine links.
Activity over the last year: 15 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Masud Husain
Masud Husain’s recent studies examine apathy, frontotemporal dementia, and effort-based decision-making in Parkinson’s disease across cognitive neuroscience and psychiatry.
Activity over the last year: 16 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Self- versus caregiver-reported apathy across neurological disorders (Jan 2025)
- Behavioural changes in frontotemporal dementia and their cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates (Feb 2025)
- Impulse Control Disorders and Effort‐Based Decision‐Making in Parkinson's Disease Patients with Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation (Jan 2025)
Mark W. Woolrich
Mark W. Woolrich’s recent output combines cognitive neuroscience with imaging and electrophysiology, including analysis tools, cortical network organization, and motor learning.
Activity over the last year: 13 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
What University of Oxford's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
The most common subfield across these researchers is cognitive neuroscience, showing a strong shared focus on how brain activity relates to perception, action, attention, and decision-making. Imaging-related work also appears frequently, alongside experimental and cognitive psychology, pharmacology, and psychiatry and mental health. Taken together, the pattern suggests a community working across basic and clinical questions, with methods, neuromodulation, and mental health treatment all featured in the same research landscape.- Cognitive Neuroscience - seen across 7 of the featured researchers
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Pharmacology - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Psychiatry and Mental health - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
These recent publications offer a useful snapshot of neuroscience at the University of Oxford, where cognitive, clinical, and methods-focused research all sit side by side. If you’re exploring similar work, this kind of overview can help you spot collaborators, emerging themes, and useful journals to follow. For researchers managing their own writing and submissions, Resub can also help streamline citation discovery, manuscript formatting, and preparation for the next step.
Top researchers use tools to scale their productivity and impact. Try Livewrite for free today.