Oxford+

Hosted by Susannah de Jager

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Oct 2026

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Welcome to Oxford+, the podcast series that explores the myths and truths of the Oxford investing landscape hosted by Susannah de Jager. Since moving to Oxford, Susannah has collaborated with experts, entrepreneurs, and government to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Oxford+ aims to inform, inspire, and connect. We'll talk to Founders, investors, academics, politicians, and facilitators and explore how Oxford is open for business.

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October 27, 2026Episode 341 min

Human Genetics and AI with Sir Peter Donnelly

Could the same genetic data help us develop better medicines and identify disease risk years before symptoms appear? In this episode of Oxford+ in Partnership with Mishcon de Reya, Susannah de Jager speaks with Sir Peter Donnelly, CEO and co-founder of Genomics, about turning Oxford research into tools for drug discovery and preventative healthcare. Peter explains why assembling public data takes years of careful work, and how human genetics can help scientists choose drug targets and the patients most likely to benefit. The conversation also examines agentic AI, which lets scientists ask questions of genetic data without waiting for specialist analysis. On the healthcare side, Peter describes how polygenic risk scores could guide screening and prevention according to individual risk rather than age alone. Research reported by Exeter on 22 October 2026 , drawing on nearly one million genomes, stresses that genetic risk needs clinical and environmental context. That distinction matters as Peter discusses personalised medicine, Our Future Health and the practical challenge of making prevention work within existing healthcare systems. (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+ (01:14) - From Mathematics to Human Genetics (04:27) - Turning Oxford Research into Genomics (09:10) - Why Combining Genetic Data Is Difficult (13:14) - Using Genetics to Choose Better Drug Targets (17:57) - Choosing Patients and Partnering with Vertex (20:16) - Agentic AI and Access to Genetic Analysis (25:25) - Polygenic Risk Scores and Disease Prevention (29:17) - Personalising Screening and Preventative Care (32:00) - Our Future Health and the NHS (35:54) - International Healthcare Opportunities (38:10) - Growing Genomics and Funding Its Next Steps Sir Peter Donnelly: Professor Sir Peter Donnelly FRS, FMedSci is CEO and co-founder of Genomics and Emeritus Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford. His work applies statistics and probability to human genetics and disease risk. He held leading roles in the International HapMap Project and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, and previously directed Oxford’s Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics. In 2014, he co-founded Genomics to turn genetic research into tools for drug discovery and disease prevention. He was knighted in 2019 for services to the understanding of human genetics in disease. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

October 19, 2026Episode 24 min

Oxford+ In Brief with Gordon Sangera, Founder of Oxford Nanopore

What would success look like if Oxford turned more of its scientific discoveries into lasting businesses? In this Oxford+ in Brief episode, Susannah de Jager puts a series of quick-fire questions to Oxford Nanopore co-founder Gordon Sanghera. His answer starts with homegrown companies that remain independent and create jobs and wealth in the UK. He distinguishes independence from ownership, leaving room for overseas investors without abandoning that ambition. Gordon describes an Oxford innovation ecosystem with growing energy, pointing newcomers towards OX Tech Week and the Lamb & Flag. But he also argues that Oxford recognises promising technologies too slowly and should commit investment more quickly when a breakthrough appears credible. Looking towards 2050, Gordon imagines stronger late-stage development support in Oxford, drawing on the Fraunhofer model. His final proposal is more focused collaboration across fragmented research and spin-outs, organised around selected areas where Oxford could build stronger technology businesses. Gordon Sanghera: Dr Gordon Sanghera CBE is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Nanopore Technologies. He helped build the business from its formation in 2005 through to its 2021 London Stock Exchange listing. His background combines bioelectronics, product development and manufacturing, including earlier roles at MediSense working on blood glucose testing systems. In October 2026, IP Group confirmed that he had joined Matter Machine, a University of Liverpool spin-out developing AI-powered materials discovery technology, to lead its commercialisation strategy. His experience of turning university research into a commercial business informs his views on Oxford's funding and company-building challenges. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford, UK.

October 12, 2026Episode 240 min

How Gordon Sanghera Built Oxford Nanopore

What does it take to build a global deep tech company without leaving the UK? Oxford Nanopore co-founder Gordon Sanghera joins Susannah de Jager on Oxford+ in partnership with Mishcon de Reya to explain how an Oxford spinout became an international sequencing business. From his earlier work at MediSense to Nanopore’s London listing, Gordon describes the decisions that shaped the company and the gaps that still hold UK founders back. His account challenges cautious fundraising and the habit of proving a technology before planning its manufacture. He explains how honest budgets attracted patient capital, why building production capacity helped speed up development, and how employee share sales supported continuity through years of growth. The conversation comes as British Business Bank research published on 29 September reports UK venture funds matching US pooled total-value returns for 2002–2021 vintages. Fund performance and access to growth funding remain different questions, a distinction that runs through Gordon’s argument. Gordon also considers technological sovereignty and AI in genomics. His case is for continued investment in biology, chemistry and electronics, with AI helping researchers make better use of the data those fields produce. (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+ (01:51) - Oxford’s Progress and the Scale-Up Funding Gap (04:39) - From MediSense to Oxford Nanopore (08:08) - Choosing the Hardest Technical Challenge (13:02) - Finding Patient Capital through Honest Budgets (17:26) - Building Manufacturing into the Strategy (21:35) - Choosing London over NASDAQ (25:30) - Employee Equity and Private-Market Liquidity (29:18) - Ambition, Culture and Technological Sovereignty (33:44) - AI and the UK’s Scientific Strengths (37:23) - Genomic Data and the Next Opportunity Gordon Sanghera: Dr Gordon Sanghera CBE FRS is a co-founder of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and its technology innovation adviser. He led the company for 21 years, from an Oxford spinout to its London Stock Exchange listing in 2021. His work centres on bioelectronic technologies, including blood glucose monitoring and DNA sequencing. Earlier roles at MediSense covered research, manufacturing process development and worldwide marketing, experience that informed Nanopore’s approach to production and commercial growth. Gordon was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2026. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya , HSBC Innovation Banking , and James Cowper Kreston . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

October 5, 2026Episode 15 min

Oxford+ in Brief with Eva Barboni, Executive Director of Enterprise Britain

What would it take for Britain's best ideas to grow into global companies that stay here? In this Oxford+ in Brief episode, host Susannah de Jager puts a set of quick-fire questions to Eva Barboni, Executive Director of Enterprise Britain. Eva describes success as more scale-ups choosing to stay in Britain, creating jobs and reinvesting in their communities, with more Britons investing directly in the country's most exciting businesses. She argues that the UK is strong on innovation, with world-leading universities producing spin-outs in frontier technologies, but weak at backing those companies to commercialise and grow here. The gaps she identifies are capital to scale, a culture that champions success and access to talent. Eva Barboni: Eva Barboni is Executive Director of Enterprise Britain, where she campaigns for policies that help British companies grow and share the gains more widely. She has spent 20 years working across policy, communications and stakeholder engagement. Eva began her career on political campaigns in the United States, starting with Howard Dean’s 2003 to 2004 presidential campaign, before working on campaigns in the UK and other countries. She later founded and led Atalanta, a strategic communications consultancy ranked among PR Week’s top five ESG consultancies. Her experience combines political campaigning, public narrative and first-hand knowledge of building a business in the UK. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

September 28, 2026Episode 138 min

Can the UK Create Its First Trillion-Dollar Company?

What would it take for Britain to turn promising start-ups into global companies that stay and grow here? In this episode of Oxford+ in partnership with Mishcon de Reya, host Susannah de Jager speaks with Eva Barboni, Executive Director of Enterprise Britain, about the ambition, capital and talent needed to close the UK scale-up gap. Eva explains why public attitudes towards success matter, how decades of policy have steered households and pension funds towards safer assets, and why British capital behind British businesses can keep jobs, investment and decision-making in the country. The conversation covers retail investing, pension fiduciary duty, Series B funding, non-compete clauses, AI and entry-level work. It also asks how universities and regional clusters can spread the gains from new businesses more widely. The timing is apt. A September analysis from the UK Business Angels Association notes that UK-managed venture capital funds returned 13.3% a year over ten years, as pension providers explore a fund of more than £1 billion for British scale-ups. Eva’s case is clear: policy reform needs a public story that links business growth to shared prosperity. Eva Barboni: Eva Barboni is Executive Director of Enterprise Britain, where she campaigns for policies that help British companies grow and share the gains more widely. She has spent 20 years working across policy, communications and stakeholder engagement. Eva began her career on political campaigns in the United States, starting with Howard Dean’s 2003 to 2004 presidential campaign, before working on campaigns in the UK and other countries. She later founded and led Atalanta, a strategic communications consultancy ranked among PR Week’s top five ESG consultancies. Her experience combines political campaigning, public narrative and first-hand knowledge of building a business in the UK. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

September 21, 20261 min

Season Five

What will it take for Britain to turn its research strengths into companies that stay, scale and list at home? Gordon Sanghera takes listeners through Oxford Nanopore's rise and its decision to list in London. Eva Barboni of Enterprise Britain argues for shorter non-competes to free up talent, and Acorn co-founder Hermann Hauser asks how Europe can fund its next generation of global companies. Conversations with the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Immunocore and Genomics follow. The timing matters. UK university spinouts raised £1.3bn of venture capital in 2025, down from £2.2bn in 2024, according to Dealroom's Spotlight on Spinouts report . The ideas are here. Season Five asks what it will take to build on them, starting 29 September. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

September 14, 20267 min

Ethics & Innovation: What We Automate, Govern and Protect

What are we unwilling to automate away? In this wrap episode of Oxford+, host Susannah de Jager returns to the ten conversations that made up the Ethics and Innovation miniseries and draws out the thread running through all of them. Philosophers, technologists, lawyers, policymakers and social innovators discuss democracy, language and intelligence, care, healthcare, access to justice, and who benefits when innovation succeeds. The timing matters. Bill Gates has argued that AI will be either the greatest equaliser ever invented or the worst source of injustice, and that the choices made now will decide which, in a 6,000-word essay published in 2026 . Public confidence remains thin: around 1 in 3 adults in Great Britain say they would not trust AI to carry out any task, according to the Office for National Statistics . This is a short guide to the debate for people who will not build AI systems but will live with the results, at work, in hospitals, in classrooms and in court. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content In this episode of Ethics and Innovation by Oxford+ brought to you by Equinox . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

September 7, 2026Episode 1031 min

Ethics & Innovation: Inside Microsoft's AI for Good Lab

What happens when you point some of the world's strongest analytical tools at problems money alone has never fixed? In this episode of Ethics and Innovation by Oxford+ brought to you by Equinox , host Susannah de Jager speaks with Juan M Lavista Ferres, Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist at Microsoft and director of its AI for Good Lab. Juan explains how a study of 20 million births changed what researchers knew about smoking and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, why a satellite image and a CT scan are the same problem to a machine learning team, and how roughly 100 incoming requests get filtered down to two or three funded projects. The timing is pointed. The World Economic Forum reported in August 2026 that the world faces a shortage of health workers by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum , which is the exact supply gap behind Juan's work on preventable blindness in premature babies. He is equally clear about the limits: no data, no access, no expert partner, no project. Every tool his team builds, he says, could also be used as a weapon. (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+ (01:42) - From Development Banking to AI for Good (03:49) - What 20 Million Births Revealed about SIDS (05:23) - Why Every Project Needs a Domain Expert (06:21) - Satellite Images and CT Scans: The Same Problem (08:39) - The Funnel and the Tyranny of Choice (10:17) - Data Access, Privacy and Labelled Data (13:50) - Open Source, No Fees and Donated Expertise (16:40) - SPARROW and the Data Collection Problem (20:06) - Legal Help for Women and Girls in Malawi (23:18) - Preventable Blindness and the 36-Hour Window (26:30) - Responsible AI, Bias and Tools Used as Weapons Juan M Lavista Ferres: Juan M Lavista Ferres is Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist at Microsoft and director of the AI for Good Lab, which he co-founded in 2018. He leads a team of data scientists and researchers in AI, machine learning and statistical modelling, working with domain experts on health, sustainability, humanitarian response and accessibility. Before Microsoft he spent five years at the Inter-American Development Bank, and after joining Microsoft in 2009 he worked on the Experimentation Platform and the Bing data mining team before moving into applied research. His SIDS work with academic collaborators was published in Pediatrics, and he is a co-author of the lab's AI for Good book. He is a co-author of the 2025 JAMA Network Open study on AI-enabled screening for retinopathy of prematurity in low-resource settings. Connect with Juan on LinkedIn Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content In this episode of Ethics and Innovation by Oxford+ brought to you by Equinox . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

August 31, 2026Episode 933 min

Ethics & Innovation: Oxfordshire's Divide Between Opportunity and Access

How can one of the UK's most prosperous counties also hold some of its widest gaps in life expectancy and school results? In this episode of Ethics and Innovation by Oxford+ brought to you by Equinox , host Susannah de Jager speaks with Jeremy Long, co-chair of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership, about what an inclusive economy looks like in practice and why averages hide as much as they reveal. Jeremy sets out the OIEP's three working groups, early years, youth engagement and inclusive employers, and the charter that lets organisations pick the pledges they can act on now. He describes taking employers into HMP Bullingdon to see how ex-offenders can return to work, the early years summit that put school readiness back on the county agenda, and plans to revive work experience through the Opportunity For All event. The timing matters. Figures published on 27 August 2026 show 981,000 young people across the UK were not in education, employment or training between April and June, according to the Office for National Statistics . Jeremy explains how Oxfordshire can match unfilled roles with local talent, and how Equinox extends that work. (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+ (01:53) - What the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership Is (03:45) - The Averages That Mask Oxfordshire's Inequality (06:27) - Early Years, Youth and Inclusive Employers (08:34) - Inside the OIEP Charter and Its Pledges (10:24) - Ex-Offenders, Timpson and HMP Bullingdon (11:40) - Closing the Gap for 18 to 24-Year-Olds (12:38) - The Early Years Summit and What Came Next (15:56) - Cradle to Career and the School as Anchor (18:12) - Reviving Work Experience Across the County (21:32) - Equinox, the Local Policy Lab and Green Skills (27:07) - Aspirations for the Next Five Years Jeremy Long: Jeremy Long is co-chair of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership, a collaboration of more than 100 organisations across business, local government, the universities, education and the voluntary and community sectors. A chartered accountant by training, he spent fifteen years as chief executive of MTR Corporation's European business and chaired the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership from 2016 to 2023. He has chaired the board of trustees at River Learning Trust since October 2023, sits as a non-executive director of National Grid Electricity Transmission, and chairs the Oxford energy efficiency installer EnergyMyWay. Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Equinox . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

August 24, 2026Episode 841 min

Ethics & Innovation: Serving, not Harming and Connection, not Convenience

What should AI actually do for us, rather than simply what can it do? In this episode of Ethics and Innovation by Oxford+ brought to you by Equinox , host Susannah de Jager speaks with Dr Caroline Green, Director of Research at Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI, about care as one of the defining ethical questions of the AI age. Caroline explains what care means inside a regulated social care system, why OpenAI and Anthropic have started borrowing the language of caregiving, and where she thinks that borrowing should worry us. The conversation moves between the very specific and the very broad: carebots collecting data while they chat to residents, the Oxford framework that helps providers question technology suppliers properly, a week in Dharamsala learning how Tibetan communities use AI to preserve their language, and the civic AI work she is developing with Ambassador Audrey Tang. New Stanford research published this month found that people with smaller social networks who turn to AI companions for emotional support report lower well-being, which makes Caroline's warning about caring-sounding systems timely. Two phrases anchor the episode: serving, not harming, and connection, not convenience. (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+ (01:42) - What Care Actually Means (03:55) - Why Big Tech Has Adopted the Language of Care (05:53) - Job Displacement and the Doom Narrative (08:15) - Dharamsala, Monasteries and Tibetan Language AI (11:59) - What Makes Us Distinct as Humans (14:26) - The Oxford Framework for Responsible AI in Care (17:13) - Carebots and the Line between Task and Relationship (23:26) - Ageing Societies and the Rights of Older People (26:54) - Young People, Trust and Over-Reliance on AI (33:16) - Civic AI and the Ethics of Care (37:36) - Hope, Harm and the Civic Space Dr. Caroline Green: Dr Caroline Emmer De Albuquerque Green is Director of Research and Head of Public Engagement at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford, where she leads the Accelerator Fellowship Programme. She is one of the UK's leading voices on the responsible use of AI in health and social care. Caroline co-led the Oxford Project on the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Social Care and wrote its April 2025 white paper setting out a value-led approach, work that led to the AI in Care Alliance whose vision and priorities were agreed at the second AI in Social Care Summit in March 2026. She also leads Truth and Trust: AI and Young People, a research collaboration with the BBC announced in February 2026. Caroline holds an LLB from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Human Rights from the LSE, an MA in Investigative Journalism from City University and a PhD in Gerontology from King's College London. Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Equinox . Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.

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