A University of Oxford medical student has won a prestigious award for his research into multiple sclerosis (MS).

Christ Church student Thomas Angell has been awarded the 2024 Undergraduate Prize for Physiology by The Physiological Society.

He received the award for research conducted during the third year of his BA in medical sciences.

He examined the distribution of iron in the spinal cords of MS patients to understand whether it may be causing the death of nerve cells, leading to disability.

He said: "Most prior research in this area has focused on the MS plaque [focal lesions characteristic of the disease].

"In my research I diverted attention to areas outside these plaques - something that had been largely neglected until this point.

"We discovered that areas of higher iron deposition outside the plaque correlates with a specific marker of axonal [nerve fibre] injury."

He presented his findings at the world’s largest neurology conference, the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, held this year in Denver, Colorado.

The University of Oxford examiners brought the research to the attention of the Physiological Society, Europe’s largest and oldest network of physiologists, and nominated it for the society’s 2024 Undergraduate Prize for Physiology.

Mr Angell added: "I was delighted to find out that I had received this award.

"I thoroughly enjoyed performing the research and am very grateful to have my work recognised."