Professor Richard O C Oreffo DPhil DSc (Oxon) FHEA CBiol FRSB FIOR
Professor of Musculoskeletal Science, Director of Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration

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Richard Oreffo holds the chair of Musculoskeletal Science and is co-founder and Director of the Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration. He has held positions in USA, AstraZeneca, and University of Oxford before being appointed to a lectureship in 1999 at the University of Southampton. Richard is internationally recognised for his work on skeletal biology and the mechanisms involved in skeletal stem cell differentiation and bone regeneration.
I am particularly interested in the application of bone stem cells and regenerative medicine strategies for the repair and regeneration of damaged skeletal tissue. We have the potential to make a difference through collaborative teams here at the University of Southampton to treat devastating bone conditions.
Richard completed his DPhil at the MRC Bone Research laboratory in Oxford on skeletal cell biology and his post-doctoral training in San Antonio, Texas, USA under Professor Greg Mundy on bone remodelling. For over 20 years, he has lead a multidisciplinary research group focused on developing strategies to repair bone & cartilage with translation through to patient benefit a personal key driver. In 2001 Richard was recognised with the Maxime Hanns award for collaborative research in Bone Tissue Engineering, appointed to a Senior Lectureship in 2002 and to a Readership and Personal chair in 2004. Richard has successfully trained over 45 PhD and MD students since 2002 and, as of May 2020, directly supervises/co-supervises 11 MD/PhD Graduate Fellows.
Richard manages a significant research grant portfolio, has published over 300 peer-reviewed full papers (H-index 67; >16,350 citations ISI WoS), including breakthrough publications on skeletal stem cells and nanotopography, bone regeneration as well as epigenetics in Osteoarthritis, in Nature Materials, ACS Nano, Stem Cells, Arthritis & Rheumatism; holds 7 patents and is co-editor of “Epigenetic aspects of Chronic Diseases” Highly Commended in 2012 BMA Medical Book Awards.
He serves / has served on a number of Research Council Committees, Industrial committees and international advisory boards and holds a number of visiting professorships in Australia and Asia. His research led to the first 3D titanium bone stem impaction graft operation in the UK. He is founder / CSO of Renovos Biologics Limited; a spin-out from the University of Southampton. Richard is on the editorial boards of five journals, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, in 2015 was awarded a DSc by the University of Oxford and elected a Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research in 2019.
Qualifications
- B.Sc. Honours, Biology, University of Liverpool, 1983
- D.Phil. Vitamin A and Bone, University of Oxford, 1986
- D.Sc Skeletal Tissue Engineering, University of Oxford, 2015
Appointments held
- Adjunct Chair, School of Biomedical Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2018-2021
- Visiting / Adjunct Senior Professor (2020), China Medical University, Taiwan, 2015-Present
- Visiting Professor, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan, 2015-2018
- Demonstrator, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford. 1985-1986
- Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 1987-1989
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Cheshire, UK.1990-1991
- Principal Research Scientist, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Cheshire, UK.1991-1993
- MRC Research Fellow, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. 1993-1999
- Non-Clinical lecturer, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.1999-2002
- Senior lecturer, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.2002-2004
- Reader, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. 2004
- Personal Chair in Musculoskeletal Science. 2004-present
- Director of Enterprise – Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences. 2005- 2013
- Associate Dean (Innovation and Enterprise), Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences. 2008-2010
- Associate Dean Enterprise, Faculty of Medicine. 2010-2011
- Associate Dean, International and Enterprise, 2011 - 2013
- Adjunct Professor, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. 2010-present
Links to external websites
- 'Grow your own' hip replacements in a decade
- Doctors get a lucky break: Fractures could be repaired using lightweight plastic bones and stem cells
- Stem cells and degradable implants encourage bone regrowth
- Stem cells and plastics combined to heal bones
- University of Southampton scientists develop artificial bone to help heal broken limbs
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