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Research project

Establishment of a National Network on Musculoskeletal Ageing

Project overview

Our overall aim is to establish a new national network which will underpin a step change in musculoskeletal ageing research capacity and strategy, by identifying: key tractable research priorities; developing an integrated multi-disciplinary grouping to address the identified research gaps; providing a platform to disseminate best practice; supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to build research capacity and ensure longevity to current UKRI investments; and coordinating an ongoing programme of innovative studies to identify, develop and translate findings from our discovery science to clinical impact. Crucially the network will contribute to delivering the government Grand Challenge target of 5 more years of independent living by 2035, by identifying approaches to maintain mobility in old age. The network will bring together the scientific excellence of the three principal applicants. Focusing on the leading chronic non-communicable disorders of bone, muscle and joint (osteoporosis, sarcopenia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis), the integration of these groups will galvanize a truly bench to bedside approach to provide a strong evidence base for health policy, underpinning a step change in UK musculoskeletal ageing research capability/capacity, and promoting increased healthspan.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Cyrus Cooper

Prof Rheumatology Clinical Epidemiology
Research interests
  • Key research contributions have been:
  • discovery of the developmental influences which contribute to the risk of osteoporosis and hi…
  • demonstration that maternal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with sub-optimal bone miner…
Connect with Cyrus

Email: cc@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Other researchers

Professor Nicholas Harvey

Director/Professor
Research interests
  • Lifecourse epidemiology of osteoporosis and fragility fractures
  • Understanding mechanism and development of novel interventions across lifecourse to prevent f…
Connect with Nicholas

Email: nch@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

A nutritional supplement containing zinc during preconception and pregnancy increases human milk zinc concentrations
Soo Min Han, Surabhi Devaraj, José G. B. Derraik, Mark H. Vickers, Fang Huang, Stephane Dubascoux, Keith Godfrey, Shiao-Yng Chan, Wei Wei Pang, Sagar K Thakkar & Wayne Cutfield, 2023, Frontiers in Nutrition, 9
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1034828
Type: article
Machine learning applied to HR-pQCT images improves fracture discrimination provided by DXA and clinical risk factors
Shengyu Lu, Nicholas R. Fuggle, Leo D. Westbury, Mícheál Ó Breasail, Gregorio Bevilacqua, Kate A. Ward, Elaine M. Dennison, Sasan Mahmoodi, Mahesan Niranjan & Cyrus Cooper, 2023, Bone, 168
DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2022.116653
Type: article
Longitudinal change in bone density, geometry and estimated bone strength in older men and women from The Gambia
Mícheál Ó Breasail, Camille Parsons, Ayse Zengin, Landing Jarjou, Cyrus Cooper, Peter R Ebeling, Ann Prentice & Kate A Ward, 2023, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 38(1), 48-58
DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.4727
Type: article
The need to distinguish intervention thresholds and diagnostic thresholds in the management of osteoporosis
John A Kanis, Eugene V. McCloskey, Nicholas C Harvey, Cyrus Cooper, Rene Rizzoli, Bess Dawson-Hughes, Stefania Maggi & Jean-Yves Reginster, 2023, Osteoporosis International, 34(1), 1-9
DOI: 10.1007/s00198-022-06567-9
Type: article
Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research
Peggy M Cawthon, Marjolein Visser, Hidenori Arai, José A Ávila-Funes, Rocco Barazzoni, Shalender Bhasin, Ellen Binder, Olivier Bruyère, Tommy Cederholm, Liang-Kung Chen, Cyrus Cooper, Gustavo Duque, Roger A Fielding, Jack Guralnik, Douglas P Kiel, Ben Kirk, Francesco Landi, Avan A Sayer, Stephan Von Haehling, Jean Woo & Alfonso J Cruz-Jentoft, 2022, European Geriatric Medicine, 13(6), 1239-1244
DOI: 10.1007/s41999-022-00706-5
Type: article
Does antenatal cholecalciferol supplementation affect the mode or timing of delivery? Post hoc analyses of the MAVIDOS randomised controlled trial
Rebecca J Moon, Stefania D’angelo, Sarah R Crozier, Elizabeth M Curtis, Michelle Fernandes, Alexandra J Kermack, Justin H Davies, Keith M Godfrey, Nicholas J Bishop, Stephen H Kennedy, Ann Prentice, Inez Schoenmakers, Robert Fraser, Saurabh V Gandhi, Hazel M Inskip, Muhammad Kassim Javaid, Aris T Papageorghiou, Cyrus Cooper & Nicholas C Harvey, 2022, Journal of Public Health
DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdac160
Type: article
Adjusting conventional FRAX estimates of fracture probability according to the number of prior falls in the preceding year
John A. Kanis, Helena Johansson, Nicholas C. Harvey, Mattias Lorentzon, Enwu Liu, Liesbeth Vandenput, Suzanne Morin, William D. Leslie & Eugene V. McCloskey, 2022, Osteoporosis International, 34(3), 479-487
DOI: 10.1007/s00198-022-06633-2
Type: article