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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

Nutritional risk and its relationship with physical function in community-dwelling older adults
Ilse Bloom, Jean Zhang, Camille Parsons, Gregorio Bevilacqua, Elaine Dennison, Cyrus Cooper & Kate Ward, 2022, Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 34(9), 2031-2039
DOI: 10.1007/s40520-022-02171-3
Type: article
Osteoporosis in 2022: care gaps to screening and personalised medicine
Elizabeth Curtis, Elaine Dennison, Cyrus Cooper & Nicholas Harvey, 2022, Best Practice and Research Clinical Rheumatology, 36(3)
DOI: 10.1016/j.berh.2022.101754
Type: article
Quantitating age-related BMD textural variation from DXA region-free-analysis: a study of hip fracture prediction in three cohorts
Mohsen Farzi, Jose M. Pozo, Eugene McCloskey, Richard Eastell, Nicholas Harvey, Alejandro Frangi & Jeremy Mark Wilkinson, 2022, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 37(9), 1679-1688
DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.4638
Type: article
Relationships between muscle parameters and history of falls and fractures in the Hertfordshire Cohort Study: do all muscle components relate equally to clinical outcomes?
Faidra Laskou, Leo Westbury, Nicholas Fuggle, Mark Edwards, Cyrus Cooper & Elaine Dennison, 2022, Calcified Tissue International, 111(3), 242-247
DOI: 10.1007/s00223-022-00986-w
Type: article
Activity behaviors in British 6-year-olds
Kathryn R. Hesketh, Soren Brage, Hazel Inskip, Sarah Crozier, Keith Godfrey, Nicholas Harvey, Cyrus Cooper & Esther M.F. van Sluijs, 2022, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 19(8), 558 - 565
DOI: 10.1123/jpah.2021-0718
Type: article
Maternal and fetal genetic variation in vitamin D metabolism and umbilical cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D
Rebecca Moon, Laura, Diana Frances Cooke, Stefania D'angelo, Elizabeth Curtis, Philip Titcombe, Justin Davies, Keith Godfrey, Jane Cleal, Rohan Lewis, Cyrus Cooper & Nicholas Harvey, 2022, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 107(8), E3403-E3410
DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgac263
Type: article
Improved fracture risk prediction by adding VFA-identified vertebral fracture data to BMD by DXA and clinical risk factors used in FRAX
Lisa Johansson, H. Johansson, Kristian F. Axelsson, H. Litsne, Nicholas Harvey, E. Liu, W.D. Leslie, Lisbeth Vandenput, Eugene McCloskey, J. A. Kanis & M. Lorentzon, 2022, Osteoporosis International, 33(8), 1725-1738
DOI: 10.1007/s00198-022-06387-x
Type: article