Event details
13 October 2026
Oxford, United Kingdom
In-Person Event
Symposium on Future Health Systems: Securing Wellbeing in a Changing World
Public healthcare systems around the world are under growing strain and risk rapidly becoming unsustainable. Ageing populations, the rising prevalence of chronic disease, and the increasing cost of treatments are placing pressure on public finances. Shortages of healthcare workers, frequent outbreaks, climate related disasters and widening social inequalities are further stretching already fragile systems.
At the same time, many national health systems remain oriented around reactive, high-cost models of care. Over the long term, this approach may struggle to deliver care that is affordable, fair and resilient. Addressing these pressures will likely require fundamental changes in how systems are designed, financed and evaluated, alongside a stronger focus on prevention, primary care and innovative models of treatment.
Alongside system level reforms, there is growing interest in whether advances in novel fields such as regenerative medicine could contribute to solutions by reshaping how diseases are treated and managed. While still an emerging field, regenerative approaches raise questions about how future models of care might reduce disease burden, alter care pathways and influence the long-term economics of health systems.
This half-day symposium will gather researchers, clinicians and policymakers to explore challenges and opportunities. It will combine perspectives on health system reform with discussion of innovative scientific approaches with the potential to help shape future health systems that are more sustainable and resilient.
This Advalife Science and Nature Partnerships event will run from 10am-1pm on Tuesday 13 October at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. It will feature six expert talks, a panel discussion moderated by a Nature Custom Media editor and a brief update from one of the Nature Portfolio journals. It is run in partnership with The Mila at the Saïd Business School, and is part of the full-day 'Forum on the Art of Medical Science Innovation’ event at the University of Oxford.
Speakers
Professor Angela Russell
University of Oxford
Angela Russell is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry jointly between the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. She gained her DPhil in Organic Chemistry in 2004, and in 2007 she was awarded a Research Councils’ UK Fellowship. in 2018 she was promoted to Professor of Medicinal Chemistry.
Her research concerns the discovery and translation of new molecules and mechanisms to manipulate cell fate, particularly for degenerative diseases. She has founded three companies MuOx Ltd (acquired by Summit Therapeutics plc), Oxstem Ltd and Kodiform Therapeutics Ltd to translate her research towards new treatments and clinical trials.
In 2016 she was named as a Rising Star in the UK Biobeat report, which recognized 50 outstanding women entrepreneurs and business leaders for their contributions to global health innovation. Her pioneering work to develop a therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy has been recognized through a Harrington Rare Diseases scholarship award in 2020, and the Royal Society of Chemistry's Jeremy Knowles Award in 2024.
Professor Masakazu Toi
Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center Komagome Hospital
Masakazu Toi is the director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center, Komagome Hospital, and an emeritus professor and visiting professor at the Center for Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy at Kyoto University, both in Japan. He is a leading clinician-scientist and leader in cancer research, with particular expertise in breast cancer, translational medicine and healthcare innovation. His work focuses on translating scientific advances into improved patient care and more effective healthcare systems. He has authored more than 1,000 scientific publications and served as a Chairman of the Japanese Breast Cancer Society.
Throughout his career, Professor Toi has combined clinical practice with research, leading major clinical trials and translational studies focused on the tumour microenvironment, cancer biology and emerging diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. He previously held senior academic and clinical leadership positions at Kyoto University and the Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center, where he directed departments of surgery and clinical trials.
Professor Toi trained in medicine at Hiroshima University and undertook research training in molecular biology and tumour angiogenesis at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford in the UK. He has also held research appointments at Oxford University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School in the US. Beyond his research contributions, he has played a significant role in strengthening university–industry collaboration and healthcare innovation in Japan.
Throughout his career, Professor Toi has combined clinical practice with research, leading major clinical trials and translational studies focused on the tumour microenvironment, cancer biology and emerging diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. He previously held senior academic and clinical leadership positions at Kyoto University and the Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center, where he directed departments of surgery and clinical trials.
Professor Toi trained in medicine at Hiroshima University and undertook research training in molecular biology and tumour angiogenesis at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford in the UK. He has also held research appointments at Oxford University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School in the US. Beyond his research contributions, he has played a significant role in strengthening university–industry collaboration and healthcare innovation in Japan.
Professor Anna Odone
University of Pavia
Anna Odone is Professor of Public Health at the University of Pavia in Italy, where she directs the School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine. She also directs the Interdepartmental Programme in Public Health, Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology and Healthcare Organisation at the IRCCS San Matteo Polyclinic Foundation, Pavia.
Her research focuses on public health, prevention, vaccination policy, digital health and health systems, with particular expertise in infectious disease control and immunization strategies. She has contributed to numerous national and European initiatives, including the European Joint Action on Vaccination (EU-JAV), examining vaccine uptake, immunization policy, public-health interventions and the use of digital technologies to improve population health.
Professor Odone is President of the Digital Health Section of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and serves on a range of scientific and policy bodies in public health and healthcare innovation. Trained in medicine, epidemiology and public health in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, her work focuses on strengthening prevention and public-health systems to improve population health and the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems.
Her research focuses on public health, prevention, vaccination policy, digital health and health systems, with particular expertise in infectious disease control and immunization strategies. She has contributed to numerous national and European initiatives, including the European Joint Action on Vaccination (EU-JAV), examining vaccine uptake, immunization policy, public-health interventions and the use of digital technologies to improve population health.
Professor Odone is President of the Digital Health Section of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and serves on a range of scientific and policy bodies in public health and healthcare innovation. Trained in medicine, epidemiology and public health in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, her work focuses on strengthening prevention and public-health systems to improve population health and the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems.
Professor Christopher Buckley
University of Oxford
Christopher Buckley is Kennedy Professor of Translational Rheumatology and Director of Clinical Research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. An internationally recognized clinician-scientist, his research focuses on chronic inflammation, stromal cell biology and the mechanisms that drive immune-mediated disease and tissue damage.
His work has helped advance understanding of how fibroblasts and tissue microenvironments contribute to the development and persistence of inflammatory diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions. Through translational research programmes that bridge laboratory science and clinical medicine, he seeks to identify new ways to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of chronic disease.
Professor Buckley trained in biochemistry and medicine at the University of Oxford and has held a number of senior academic and clinical leadership positions in Oxford and Birmingham. His current research explores the biological processes that underpin chronic disease burden and investigates how a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms can lead to more precise and effective approaches to patient care.
His work has helped advance understanding of how fibroblasts and tissue microenvironments contribute to the development and persistence of inflammatory diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions. Through translational research programmes that bridge laboratory science and clinical medicine, he seeks to identify new ways to improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of chronic disease.
Professor Buckley trained in biochemistry and medicine at the University of Oxford and has held a number of senior academic and clinical leadership positions in Oxford and Birmingham. His current research explores the biological processes that underpin chronic disease burden and investigates how a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms can lead to more precise and effective approaches to patient care.
Professor Maria Hägglund
Uppsala University
Maria Hägglund is a professor in implementation science with a focus on digital health at the Uppsala MedTech Science & Innovation Centre in Sweden. In 2019-2020 she was a Keane OpenNotes Scholar and a visiting Lecturer on Medicine at Harvard Medical School in the United States.
Her research has focused on user-centred systems that support collaboration and patient empowerment. As a member of the DOME research consortium, she has explored the impact of patients’ access to their electronic health records (including notes) through the national Swedish patient portal.
She leads the PATH — the Participatory eHealth and Health Data research group — and several major research projects. As the Chair of the Swedish Medical Informatics Association, she represented Sweden in the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) general assembly 2020-2022. Maria also chairs the EFMI Working Group on ‘Citizen Health Data’.
Her research has focused on user-centred systems that support collaboration and patient empowerment. As a member of the DOME research consortium, she has explored the impact of patients’ access to their electronic health records (including notes) through the national Swedish patient portal.
She leads the PATH — the Participatory eHealth and Health Data research group — and several major research projects. As the Chair of the Swedish Medical Informatics Association, she represented Sweden in the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) general assembly 2020-2022. Maria also chairs the EFMI Working Group on ‘Citizen Health Data’.
Dr Masatoshi Funabashi
Sony Computer Science Laboratories and Kyoto University
Masatoshi Funabashi is Programme-Specific Professor at Kyoto University’s Center for Social Common Capital beyond 2050 and Research Director at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, both in Japan. He is also the founder and representative director of SynecO, Inc. and the Synecoculture Association.
Originally trained in veterinary medicine and complexity science, Dr Funabashi received a PhD in Physics from École Polytechnique in France. His research focuses on complex systems spanning ecosystems, food systems, health and society, with a particular interest in the relationships between biodiversity, human wellbeing and long-term sustainability. He introduced the concept of Human Augmentation of Ecosystems, exploring biodiversity-based approaches that seek to address food production, environmental regeneration and human health simultaneously.
His current work examines how ecological, social and metabolic systems interact, and how these connections can inform more sustainable futures. Through research and field initiatives across multiple countries, he investigates how human activities can be redesigned to strengthen the ecological and social conditions that underpin health, resilience and planetary sustainability.
Originally trained in veterinary medicine and complexity science, Dr Funabashi received a PhD in Physics from École Polytechnique in France. His research focuses on complex systems spanning ecosystems, food systems, health and society, with a particular interest in the relationships between biodiversity, human wellbeing and long-term sustainability. He introduced the concept of Human Augmentation of Ecosystems, exploring biodiversity-based approaches that seek to address food production, environmental regeneration and human health simultaneously.
His current work examines how ecological, social and metabolic systems interact, and how these connections can inform more sustainable futures. Through research and field initiatives across multiple countries, he investigates how human activities can be redesigned to strengthen the ecological and social conditions that underpin health, resilience and planetary sustainability.
John Pickrell
Host and Moderator
Nature Custom Media
Based in Sydney, Australia, John Pickrell is executive editor, Asia Pacific and China, with Nature Custom Media. He is a veteran science journalist, editor, and author of three popular science books. John has worked in London, Washington DC and Sydney for many of the world’s leading science magazines and is a former Asia Pacific news editor of Nature. He studied biology at Imperial College in the UK and has a masters from London’s Natural History Museum.
Dr Charlotte Payne
Nature Human Behaviour
Charlotte’s background is in Anthropology, Public Health, Primatology and Zoology. Before joining Nature Human Behaviour in 2019 she conducted research on the implications of using insects as food for our health, food security, and environmental footprint. This was the focus of her PhD thesis in Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and she has conducted field-based research on this topic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Japan, Zimbabwe, Mexico and Burkina Faso. Prior to this she assisted with health related research projects at the University of Oxford, where she worked with large scale epidemiological data and high-throughput genomic data. She spent time in Japan as a Daiwa scholar in 2009-2011 and as a MEXT research student in 2013-2015, and speaks fluent Japanese. She did her undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge in 2006-2009, where she conducted field- and zoo-based research on great ape behaviour, ecology and genetics. She has a broad range of interests and is passionate about the importance of meaningful, interdisciplinary and equitable research.
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