Professor Alison Etheridge DBE FRS, Professor of Probability at Oxford’s Department of Statistics and the Mathematical Institute, has been appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Mathematical Sciences.
Alison is Professor of Probability in Oxford, having worked at the Universities of Cambridge, Berkeley, Edinburgh and Queen Mary University London before returning to Oxford. Her interests have ranged from abstract mathematical problems to concrete applications with her recent work focused on mathematical modelling of population genetics. She was Head of the Department of Statistics in Oxford until August 2022.
Alison said: ‘this really is a huge honour and it's taking a while to sink in. It has made me appreciate how lucky I have been to have the support of family, friends, students, and colleagues in and beyond Oxford. And of course, it has been a huge privilege to spend so much of my career in the University of Oxford.’
Applications for postgraduate study are now open for 2027–28 entry
Postgraduate study at Oxford Statistics offers the chance to work across a broad range of research, from statistical theory and methodology, probability and machine learning to applications in areas including genetics, epidemiology, computational biology, finance and the social sciences.
Tom Rainforth awarded full Professorial title
Tom Rainforth has been awarded the title of Professor of Statistical Machine Learning and, as of 1 September 2026, is also a Fellow of Jesus College.
What does a statistician do for the England football team?
From squad selection to modelling how footballs behave at altitude, statistician Matt Penn explains how data is helping shape the modern game, and why coaches will always matter more than the numbers.