Jonathan Attwood

I graduated from Oxford Medical School after an exchange clerkship in neurology at Harvard Medical School and a neurosurgery placement at UCSF. In 2021, I gained an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship to combine neuroscience research with neurology training in Oxford. 

In 2023, I was awarded an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship to continue research through a DPhil in clinical neuroscience. My research supervisors are Professor De Luca and Professor de Haan, and I am mentored by Professor Esiri.

During WWII, St Hugh's College Oxford was transformed into a Military Hospital for Head Injuries. I’m studying lifelong follow-up data from veterans treated at this hospital to gain unique insights into the long-term effects of brain injuries.

Which brain injuries lead to long-term physical and mental health problems? How does the brain recover from injury to perform cognitive tasks? How do mis-folded proteins spread through the brain to cause dementia after injury?

I’m addressing these questions to advance our understanding of brain injury and to support recovery among those at highest risk, including veterans and athletes. 

I am a Clinical Teaching Fellow at Oxford Medical School and a Medical Tutor at Harris Manchester College. I provide regular tutorials, seminars, and lectures in clinical neuroscience and medical humanities. 

I have co-supervised a number of successful student projects and have been recognised by Early Career Teaching Excellence and Tutor of the Term awards. I direct a concussion education course for healthcare students and a concussion awareness workshop supported by the Concussion & CTE Foundation.

I found my way into neuroscience by following an interest in the relationship between art and the brain. I performed my first experiment inside a museum, and I believe that the arts give us valuable insights into how the brain works.

For more information please see the Art and Neuroscience Project.

We offer a free interactive workshop to help you recognise the signs of concussion and respond effectively, whether you’re on the sports field or out with friends.

To book for your team, group, or society contact us. Available to all Oxford University students and staff; external enquiries also welcome.