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Future Health Systems
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Future Health Systems
We consider the health systems of the future — those that sustain the health of people and the planet — from medicine and life science, from society and from the environment.
On 13 October 2026, Future Health Systems: Securing Wellbeing in a Changing World — an international symposium presented in collaboration with Nature Partnerships — will be held at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Contents
01
Background: why we are asking this question
03
Oxford Symposium 2026
02
Why we are convening this forum
04
After the symposium
Contents
01
Background: why we are asking this question
02
Why we are convening this forum
03
Oxford Symposium 2026
04
After the symposium
Background
Why we are asking this question
Ageing populations, chronic disease, workforce shortages, infectious disease, social inequality, environmental change: the challenges surrounding health are connected to one another, and together they place compound strain on health systems. Treating them as separate problems will not produce sustainable answers.
Healthcare now needs a view that takes in not only treatment once disease has arisen, but prevention, early intervention, access to care, research and innovation, social institutions and the environment — as one system.
To consider human health without separating it from the society and environment around it, and to connect medicine and life science with knowledge from many other fields, in order to think about sustainable and resilient health systems for the future: that is where this work begins.
Why We Convene
Advalife Science views life as a complex system of interconnected relationships and explores the possibilities of new medicines by linking research, drug discovery and clinical practice. Yet sustaining human health requires a view that extends beyond drug discovery and medicine to the systems around them — society, the environment, institutions.
On questions that no single discipline or organisation can answer alone, we want to bring together knowledge from medicine, life science and other fields, hold a conversation, and carry it into new research and new collaboration. Creating an international setting for that is one reason we work on Future Health Systems.
Future Health Systems: Securing Wellbeing in a Changing World is presented in collaboration with Nature Partnerships and held at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
By bringing together specialists from medicine and life science, from the clinic, from society and from the environment to discuss health and health systems in a changing world, we hope to create the points of contact from which new research themes, collaborations and international links can grow.
Future Health Systems is not a theme raised for the symposium alone. It is the thinking that runs through all of Advalife Science’s work, with human and planetary health in view.
Oxford Symposium 2026
Event title
Future Health Systems: Securing Wellbeing in a Changing World
Date & time
Tuesday 13 October 2026, 10:00–13:00 (UK time)
Venue
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (Oxford, United Kingdom)
Format
In-person event
Co-hosted by
Advalife Science / Nature Partnerships
In partnership with The Mila, in collaboration with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Who should attend
Clinicians, health policy researchers, healthcare industry professionals, biotechnology researchers, policymakers and investors
Featured speakers
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Professor Christopher Buckley
An internationally recognised authority on chronic inflammation, stromal cell biology and translational rheumatology.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Professor Angela Russell
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, working on translational research into the discovery of new molecules for the treatment of degenerative disease.
UPPSALA UNIVERSITY
Professor Maria Hägglund
A specialist in implementation science and digital health, researching the impact of patients’ access to their electronic health records through national patient portals.
UNIVERSITY OF PAVIA
Professor Anna Odone
Professor of Public Health, leading work on preventive medicine, vaccination policy and the strengthening of health infrastructure through digital health.
KOMAGOME HOSPITAL / KYOTO UNIVERSITY
Professor Masakazu Toi
Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Disease Center Komagome Hospital / Emeritus Professor, Kyoto University. A world authority on cancer treatment and translational research, and a leading figure in breast cancer research.
KYOTO UNIVERSITY / SONY CSL
Dr Masatoshi Funabashi
Kyoto University / Sony Computer Science Laboratories. A specialist in complexity science and planetary health, who introduced the concept of Human Augmentation of Ecosystems, linking biodiversity and human health.
The panel discussion is hosted by John Pickrell (Nature Custom Media), with a journal update from Dr Charlotte Payne (Nature Human Behaviour).
After Oxford
The discussions and international connections that come out of the symposium will not end with the event. After Oxford we will set out how they can be carried into new research themes, collaborations, international links, scientific validation and practice, and report on that work as it continues.
The discussion on the day, the main insights, new collaborations and the actions that follow will be published on an ongoing basis under AFTER OXFORD.
Please note: collaboration with Nature Partnerships on this event at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford — which is focused on thought leadership and exploring important research questions — does not indicate approval or endorsement of any clinics, clinical research, therapies or treatments.
FUTURE HEALTH SYSTEMS
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Future Health Systems
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Oxford Symposium 2026
Enquiries about Future Health Systems
We welcome enquiries about the symposium, international collaboration, joint research and Future Health Systems.