| THIS MONTH'S CAFE SCIENTIFIQUE
Tuesday 11th November 2025 - Dr Maike Kittelmann - Big lessons from small minds: understanding complex brains through simple nervous systems
Dr Kittelmann will explore approaches that scientists are taking to decipher how our brain and nervous system is built and functions and why we keep relying on much smaller and simpler model organisms. She will also highlight some surprising insights from "non-model" organisms and why it is their time to shine.
Dr Kittelmann is a developmental biologist who studies organisms via their embryos and later stages. She is currently a lecturer in cell and developmental biology at the School of Biological and Medical Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, and has a particular interest in the evolution and development of the brain and nervous system.
| DATES FOR THE REST OF THIS ACADEMIC YEAR
Tuesday 9th December 2025 - Daisy Abraham - 'divorce' and relationships in bird populations
Tuesday 13th January 2026 - Professor Chris Vogel - the practicalities of wind turbines
Tuesday 10th February 2026 - tbc
Tuesday 10th March 2026 - Dr Solomon Gebrechorkos - The thirsty Earth
Tuesday 14th April 2026 - tbc
Tuesday 12th May 2026 - tbc
Tuesday 9th June 2026 - tbc
Tuesday 14th July 2026 - possibly Dr Jared Ching - using a stent to solve glaucoma problems
We always take a break in August of each year.
The Cafe will recommence after its summer break on Tuesday 8th September 2026
IN PERSON DOORS OPEN 6:45pm, ZOOM STARTS 7pm, TALK STARTS 7:15pm, EVENING FINISHES 8:45pm. There is a bench outside the common room on the top floor where early arrivals can sit before the doors open.
If you are not already on our mailing list for updates, please see the foot of this page for how to subscribe. Zoom links and passcodes will only be issued via the mailing list, at 2pm on the day of each talk.
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| VISITING THE CAFE
The Cafe is hosted by the Department of Pharmacology, off Mansfield Road (north end). This is in the centre of Oxford but does not have direct public transport to it. Please see the Pharmacology information page for full details of facilities and directions. There is disabled access to all parts of the building including the top-floor common room used by the Cafe.
Doors open at 6:45pm, with the talk starting at 7:15pm. The evening will end at 8:45pm latest, as we must leave the building by 9pm or earlier. There is a bench outside the common room on the top floor where early arrivals can sit before the doors open. Full venue information below.
We have been running a hybrid Cafe since restarting post-Covid. Zoom attendees must join the mailing list on or before 2pm on the event date and will see the specific link for the night given out in an email sent at 2pm that day: no registration required, and late emails may not be answered. If something happens to interrupt the connection then we will focus on the in-person event. Please do not give the Zoom link out to random people who might misuse it, and please do not ever publish it. The online 'doors' open at 7pm and everyone on the call will remain muted throughout, but may submit questions and comments via the Zoom chat function.
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THANKS AND DONATIONS
The assistance of Pharmacology and particularly Carolyn Thackrah, for offering the Cafe a venue post-pandemic, is much appreciated.
Online donations
Those who wish to donate to the Cafe online may do so via https://paypal.me/CafeSci on Paypal.
Donations cover the refreshments, speaker expenses including taking them for dinner as a thank you (they are not paid), costs such as technology and equipment, the Zoom Pro subscription and occasional photocopying. There is absolutely no obligation whatsoever to donate but all gifts are greatly appreciated. Our thanks to the many who have already donated this academic year.
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