University professor receives major rheumatology research award
A University of Southampton professor has been commended for her excellence and dedication to clinical and scientific research within the field of rheumatology.
Professor Elaine Dennison (pictured receiving her award), based at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, was awarded the prestigious Michael Mason Prize by the British Society of Rheumatology.
Professor Dennison’s work investigates how much our early and adult life affects the risk of musculoskeletal conditions, such as osteoporosis, in later life.
She said: “Conditions such as fractures and osteoarthritis are becoming a big problem. More and more people are living longer and are therefore vulnerable. These are really expensive conditions to treat, but we are trying to find out what we can do to reduce people’s risk of getting the conditions in the first place.”
Professor Dennison received the distinguished award at this year’s annual British Society of Rheumatology conference where she presented her work, which focuses on musculoskeletal health among participants from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study.
The Hertfordshire Cohort Studies are a group of unique studies of men and women born in the English county of Hertfordshire between 1911 and 1939.
The main aim of these studies is to discover as much as possible about how a person’s inbuilt makeup (genome), and the environment they experienced during early life (in the womb and first few years of childhood), affect their health and ageing in later life. The study has been running since the mid 1980s, and is based at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit in Southampton.
Professor Dennison said: “It is a huge honour to have been awarded this prize; the work is a huge collaborative effort, and I look forward to sharing some of our findings with the larger rheumatology community.”
Professor Cooper, Director of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, added: "Professor Dennison is an accomplished clinician and scientist whose research has led to major advances in the epidemiology and prevention of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal disorders. She is a thoroughly deserving recipient of this major British Society for Rheumatology award.”