About
Professor Elaine Dennison is Professor of Musculoskeletal Epidemiology and Honorary Consultant in Rheumatology within Medicine at the University of Southampton. Having worked as a Principal Investigator of the Hertfordshire Cohort Study for many years, her research interest centres around musculoskeletal aging. Based at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, she is particularly interested in how events early in life interact with adult lifestyle factors to determine how we age. Professor Dennison is author of over 220 journal articles on this subject.
As a clinical academic with a keen interest in clinical academic training, Professor Dennison was appointed as Director of the Southampton Clinical Academic Training Scheme in 2018; formerly she led the Southampton Academic Foundation training programme and has served as Training Programme Director for Wessex Rheumatology for 5 years. She sits on the rheumatology SAC as the Academic representative.
In the last 5 years she has served as Chair of the National Osteoporosis Society Grants Committee, and as a member of the National Osteoporosis Society Clinical and Scientific Committee. She sits on the International Osteoporosis Foundation Committee of the Scientific Advisers, and chairs the British Society of Rheumatology Biologics Register Steering Committee. She is a clinical member of the Bone Research Society Committee (appointed 2018). Professor Dennison sits on many editorial boards, including Osteoporosis International and Journal of Developmental Health and Adult Disease.
Research
Research interests
- The epidemiology of musculoskeletal disease, particularly those conditions common in later life (osteoporosis and osteoarthritis)
Current research
The Hertfordshire Cohort Study; incepted in 1998, a longitudinal cohort of 3000 men and women born in 1931-9 in Hertfordshire for whom birth records are available and who have participated in numerous studies of health in later life
The GLOW study; a multinational cohort of women >55 years who have been recruited to a study that investigates perception of osteoporosis risk, absolute risk and therapies for osteoporosis
Biobank; an investigation of the relationship between inflammatory arthritis and osteoporosis risk
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Supervision
Current PhD Students
Teaching
Teacher of BM5 students; third, fourth and fifth years
Tutor for MRCP Part 1 and PACES courses
Lecturer on Southampton/Cambridge annual epidemiology course
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Prizes
- Pierre Meunier award (2016)
- Esceo Lilly scholarship (2015)
- Michael Mason Prize (2014)
- NIHR Senior Investigator/Clinical Excellence Award (2018)
- Committee Member of the Heberden Committee (British Society for Rheumatology (2020)
- NOS Clinical and Scientific committee (2015)
- Bronze Clinical Excellence Award (2019)
- Editor of Osteoporosis Textbook entitled Osteoporosis: a clinical overview (2020)
- IOF Olof Johnell Science Award (2022)
- NIHR Senior Investigator/Clinical Excellence Award (2020)