The research has inspired a number of publications including The History of Reading (3 volumes, 2011) and The History of Reading: A Reader (2010). Researchers are currently working on Reading in the First World War (2014).

“Research emerging from RED has significantly deepened our understanding of the history of reading practices in the British Isles over five centuries,” says Dr Towheed

New insights into how cells move around the body

An OU postgraduate research student at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research has provided new insights into how biological cells move around.

Dr Praveen Kumar Suraneni, whose PhD research has just been published in the online issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, studied cell motility, a complex and integrated process, which when gone awry, can lead to various disease conditions such as cancer metastasis, birth defects, cardiovascular disease and compromised immune function.

• The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise deemed 50% of our research ‘internationally excellent’.
• We rank in the top third of UK universities for the quality of our research.
• Our research in Design, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Education and History of Art is ranked among the best in the UK.
• The OU is the highest rated university in the National Student Survey 2012.

Open University academics regularly contribute to TV and radio programmes co-produced with the BBC.

Polar scientist Dr Mark Brandon (pictured left) was Principal Scientific Advisor to the BAFTA-award-winning BBC/Open University TV series Frozen Planet , with major input into the narration by Sir David Attenborough and the associated undergraduate course and website, as well as conducting an extensive polar science public outreach campaign.

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Laing Wang, China. PhD: Internet-mediated intercultural communication in foreign language teaching

'The OU is a wonderful, unique organisation for PhD study.'

The first thing I would say to anyone thinking of doing a PhD with the OU is to start by doing the MRes – Master of Research – because it’s such excellent training!

Dr Farah Huzair, UK. PhD: Social Aspects of the life Sciences 

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