Building at the Botnar

Progress continues on the Botnar Phase II project. This adds a new building next to the existing Botnar Research Centre, expanding laboratory and research facilities and making new projects possible that will continue to increase our understanding of musculoskeletal conditions and processes such as the effect of ageing.

Bricklaying has already begun and, although the interior fitting will not be finished until later this year, the architect’s plans are a long way towards being realised.

Click on the photo to view more pictures of the project so far.

April 2012

Knee Replacement

The University of Oxford site reports today on a new article on knee replacement in The Lancet, written by Professor Andrew Carr along with several other members of the department and external collaborators. It recognises advances in this area of medicine but also highlights gaps in our understanding and practise which suggest areas to be addressed.

March 2012

First Prize for 2012

Dr Gill, along with colleagues from NDORMS and other collaborators, have scooped the department's first prize for 2012. The paper, The Interpretation of Metal Ion Levels in Unilateral and Bilateral Hip Resurfacing (Catherine Van Der Straeten, George Grammatopoulos, Harinderjit S. Gill, Alessandro Calistri, Patricia Campbell and Koen A. De Smet) has won the Hip Society's 2012 Otto Aufranc Award. This is for innovative research in either clinical or basic science that encompasses important advances in the management of hip disorders. The manuscript will shortly be published in Clinical Orthopaedic and Related Research.

December 2011

The Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

On 1 November the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre joined with three other Oxfordshire teaching hospitals to form the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Sir Jonathan Michael, Chief Executive of the new Trust, commented:

“Through our continued collaboration with our local universities, our GP commissioners and social care partners, we aim to deliver measurably better outcomes for our patients through innovation and excellence.”

Further information can be found in the article “Hospital Trusts merge” on the new Trust’s website.

November 2011

Updated Postcode

The main postcode for the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre has been updated from OX3 7LD to OX3 7HE. This affects some parts of the department based on the NOC site although those accessed via the Old Road entrance, such as the Botnar Research Centre, continue to use OX3 7LD. Addresses have been updated across the NDORMS website.

November 2011

Success in Musculoskeletal BRU Renewal

NDORMS has just received the good news that the NIHR have supported its bid to renew funding for the Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit for five years from April 2012. The International Panel judged the proposal and track record to be of sufficient merit to justify doubling the annual funding of the original grant over the five year period.

This is fantastic news for NDORMS and a real endorsement of its track record and future plans. The grant will allow the department to undertake the translational research outlined in the theme areas of orthopaedics, rheumatology and epidemiology and will underpin its clinical trials and bio-repository initiatives. The extra funding will also make it possible to develop the additional programmes of work proposed in sarcoma, pain and regenerative medicine.

August 2011

Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Joins NDORMS

In August 2011, The Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology (KIR) officially joined NDORMS and the University of Oxford after The Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology Trust and the University of Oxford entered into a collaborative agreement for both parties to build a new rheumatology research institute in the Medical Sciences Research Campus, based in Headington, Oxford.

The KIR will continue to be based in their institute in Hammersmith, London, until the new institute is constructed (expected completion date is March 2013).

The agreement with the University of Oxford provides for the creation of a new Kennedy Research Institute on the University’s Old Road Campus adjacent to the UK’s largest musculoskeletal clinical centre, the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and alongside the existing Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), with facilities that support a range of biomedical research activities including structural biology, genomics, proteomics, cell biology, clinical trials and epidemiology.

Professor Andrew Carr, the Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in Oxford, said:

“Having the new Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology in Oxford will provide us with an opportunity to create the world’s leading programme in inflammatory arthritis. The existing expertise in clinical and basic science in Oxford, combined with those of the new Kennedy Institute, will bring together on one site a remarkable array of talent focused on improving the treatment and therapy of these disabling diseases.”

The Chairman of the Kennedy Trust, James Davis, said:

“The Kennedy Institute at Imperial College has had a very successful ten years. The Trustees are very excited at the prospect of this new institute at Oxford becoming a world leader in research into rheumatology and inflammatory and autoimmune disease.”

August 2011

Recognition of Distinction

We are delighted to announce that five members of NDORMS have been successful in the Recognition of Distinction Exercise held by the University of Oxford. This is a competitive process, requiring applicants to demonstrate an external peer reviewed sustained excellence in research and teaching, including high impact publications and significant external grant support. Our new professors are:

Professor Nigel Arden

Professor of Rheumatology

Professor Paul Bowness

Professor of Experimental Rheumatology

Professor David Beard

Professor of Musculoskeletal Sciences

Professor Andrew Price

Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

Professor Raashid Luqmani

Professor of Rheumatology

July 2011

Collaboration Between University and Local NHS Trust

The University of Oxford has a long history of working closely with local NHS Trusts and has recently agreed to enter into a Joint Working Agreement and a Trade Mark Licence with the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. With the merger of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, where NDORMS is based, into the Trust due to be completed very soon, this will further support the close work we do with our NHS partners.

Further information is available on the University website: Formal collaboration agreements between University and Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals.

July 2011

New insights into Ankylosing Spondylitis

Professor Paul Wordsworth and several other members of the department have contributed to a major recent paper in Nature Genetics, studying the genetics of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). AS is a common form of inflammatory arthritis which occurs in about 0.5% of adults of European descent and is the subject of numerous studies, including some of our clinical trials. The research was carried out in the UK, Australia and North America with a large number of participants and, by developing understanding on a genetic level, suggests several possibilities for developing improved treatments for the disease. You can read more about this research on the main University website: Gene study gives insight into causes of a common type of arthritis.

July 2011

CSAW — new shoulder pain trial

Congratulations to Dr David Beard, Dr Stephen Gwilym, Mrs Cushla Cooper, Dr Andrew Judge and Professor Andrew Carr on their successful Arthritis Research UK clinical trial application entitled “Is Arthroscopic Sub-Acromial Decompression (ASAD) More Effective Than Arthroscopy Only (AO) For Shoulder Pain?”.

This addresses the question “Can Shoulder Arthroscopy Work?” (ie. CSAW).

July 2011

Dr Catherine Swales Receives Fellowship

Dr Catherine Swales has been appointed as Fellow in Clinical Medicine at St Hilda's College.

July 2011

Cameron Brown Named ISB Young Investigator

Dr Cameron Brown, a research fellow with NDORMS, won the Young Investigator Award at the XXIIIrd congress of the International Society of Biomechanics. Five papers were short-listed for a special prize oral presentation session, and these were then judged by a panel formed from the ISB committee. His winning paper was:

1. The Role of Mechanics in the Progression of Collagen Meshwork Disruption in Osteoarthritis. Cameron Brown, Marie-Andrée Houle, Minsi Chen, Andrew Price, François Legare and Harinderjit S Gill

The other short-listed papers in the same session were:

1. Sarcomere Operating Lengths In Human Muscle Measured With In Vivo Microendoscopy. Cromie, Sanchez, Schnitzer, Delp
2. In-Situ Investigations Of Short Crack Propagation In Mouse Bone. Carriero, Zimmermann, Ritchie, Shefelbine
3. A Comparison Of Computational Methods To Determine The Permeability Of Vertebral Trabecular Bone. Widmer, Ferguson
4. Intraoperative Measurement Of Human Spastic Gracilis Muscle Isometric Forces As A Function Of Knee Angle. Ates, Ayturk, Temelli, Yucesoy

July 2011

Congratulations to Professor Luqmani

Raashid Luqmani has been granted the title Professor of Rheumatology. Professor Luqmani has a long-standing interest in vasculitis and is involved in developing better assessments for the diagnosis and evaluation of this life-threatening group of diseases. Current projects include the TABUL Study, which is testing how ultrasound scanning compares to traditional biopsy techniques in diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis and DCVAS, a large, international study with 3,500+ patients, that is exploring the diagnosis and classification of vasculitis.

June 2011

DPhil Success for Mohammed Yaqub

Congratulations are extended to Mohammed Yaqub, who successfully defended his DPhil viva voce yesterday. Thanks also go to his supervisors, Professor Cyrus Cooper, Dr Kassim Javaid and Dr Alison Noble.

May 2011

Obituary: Maureen Owen (1927-2011)

Maureen Owen, who formerly worked in NDORMS and contributed significantly to musculoskeletal research during her long and distinguished career, passed away in April. Professor Jim Triffitt and Professor Graham Russell wrote the following tribute, initially submitted to the International Bone and Mineral Society (IBMS):

It is with great sadness that we report that Maureen Owen died peacefully in Oxford aged 83 on 5th April 2011. Maureen will be remembered not only as an outstanding leader in the field of bone biology but also as a wonderful friend and colleague to all who knew her.

Maureen was born in Northern Ireland and gained a first class B.Sc. Hons degree in Experimental Physics at Queen’s University, Belfast in 1948. Following a year at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, she moved to the University of Oxford, where she spent the rest of her career. She gained her DPhil degree in 1952 in Nuclear Physics at the Clarendon Laboratory. She then moved to the Nuffield Department of Medicine and she worked there until 1958, apart from one-year at the Donner Laboratory for Biophysics at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1958 she joined the Bone Seeking Isotopes Research Unit as a Member of the Medical Research Council Staff, with Dame Janet Vaughan as Honorary Director. This group had been established in the post-war era to study the adverse effects of radio-isotopes on bone. It was in this setting, and under Dame Janet’s mentorship, that Maureen’s lifelong interest in bone tissue began. There was a one-year break in 1962 when she accompanied her husband (John, also a nuclear physicist) to Long Island, New York, where she was a Research Fellow at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Following Dame Janet’s retirement, Maureen succeeded her as head of the MRC Bone Research Laboratory firstly at the Churchill Hospital Oxford, and after 1974 at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. After Maureen retired in 1993, she retained a lively interest in research, continued to regularly attend local events, often arriving by bicycle, and remained a prominent figure at national and international meetings.

Maureen’s scientific achievements were many and varied, and clearly established her as a leader in the field of bone tissue research. Her early work was on the bone uptake of radionuclides and radiation dosimetry that naturally followed from her Nuclear Physics background. She quickly learnt cell biology and developed highly novel techniques using quantitative autoradiography to investigate the formation and metabolism of bone matrix, osteoblasts and osteoclasts. With remarkable insight, she recognised that the progenitor cells of musculoskeletal stromal tissues would be central to future investigations of bone diseases and their treatments and to normal musculoskeletal physiology. She performed the pioneering studies on this subject and made seminal contributions to understanding the key role of marrow stromal stem cells. Together with Alexander Friedenstein, who was based in Moscow, Maureen framed the concept of the marrow stromal cell system. She and Alexander became firm friends and active collaborators, and together they laid the foundations and principles of ‘marrow stromal stem cell biology’ (their preferred terminology) that endure today.

Maureen was a major player in the scientific societies relating to work in the bone field. She was secretary of the British Bone and Tooth Society (now the British Bone Research Society) from 1975-79 inclusive, and acted as the founding secretary of the European Calcified Tissue Society. She was also deeply involved in the evolution of what became the IBMS. She was on the Advisory Board of the triennial Parathyroid Hormone Conferences, which started in 1960, and she was the organiser of the highly successful 5th Parathyroid Conference held at St Catherines’s College, Oxford in1974. She continued to be involved after this group became the International Conferences on Calcium-Regulating Hormones and eventually the International Bone and Mineral Society, from whom she received the Elsevier award in 1998.

Maureen was an extraordinary mentor to many. Throughout her life she showed great kindness and encouragement to all her colleagues. Many benefited from her tuition and expertise over the years and she instilled the joy of science in all those who were fortunate to work with her in Oxford as students, researchers or sabbatical visitors throughout her career. Her warmth and friendly nature will be greatly missed by all who knew her. We offer our deepest sympathy to her daughter, Stephanie, son-in-law, Mark, and her three grandchildren. Donations in Maureen’s memory for ‘RP Fighting Blindness’ can be made online at the website: http://www.justgiving.com/maureen-owen.

May 2011

SGC Workshop Report (BMP/TGF-β Signalling and Disease)

The Structural Genetics Consortium have pubished their report on the recent conference on BMP/TGF-β Signalling and Disease held at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. NDORMS works closely with SGC and enjoys some crossover of research staff as structural genetics presents numerous avenues that have a bearing on the essential details of the musculoskeletal systems and problems associated with it.

May 2011

New Appointment for Professor Carr

We are delighted to announce that Professor Andy Carr has been appointed as Divisional Director for the Musculoskeletal and Rehabilitation Services Division, which will be part of the new Trust formed by the merger of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. Professor Carr is currently Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery with NDORMS and a senior consultant at the NOC specialising in shoulder surgery. He is also Director of the Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit.

He will formally take up his new post from 1 July but will be increasingly involved in shadow arrangements as the merger progresses and in the establishment of the new Musculoskeletal and Rehabilitation Services Division.

April 2011

Farewell to Professor Bulstrode

We bid farewell to Professor Christoper Bulstrode, a long-term member of the department who has now taken early retirement. In recent years Professor Bulstrode has focused on developing our education programme for the eight-week training blocks on orthopaedic surgery for Oxford medical students and related endeavours.

We wish him all the best for the future. Meanwhile, Mr Jonathan Rees is taking over his education and teaching role within the department.

April 2011

Genetic and Structural Studies Highlight Novel Key Factors in Autoimmune Diseases

A research team led by scientists from Oxford University (including the Structural Genomics Consortium, the Botnar Research Centre, the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Wellcome Building for Molecular Physiology, and the australian Diamantina Institute in Brisbane), have successfully deciphered the molecular mechanism how an ER protease (ERAP1) functions in a key step in cellular immunity- the processing of peptide antigens that are presented to Major Histocompatibilty Complex 1 (MHC1) molecules.

The team succeeded in determining several crystal structures that provide molecular snapshots along the complex catalytic path. Genome-wide association (GWAS) studies implicate an involvement of ERAP1 in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and Psoriasis. The Oxford group investigated a single nucleotide polymorphism in ERAP1 derived from an AS study and could demonstrate a significantly altered antigen processing pattern, thus highlighting altered antigen presentation as a crucial factor in autoimmunity.

Read more: Kochan G, Krojer T, Harvey D, Fischer R, Chen L, Vollmar M, von Delft F, Kavanagh KL, Brown MA, Bowness P, Wordsworth P, Kessler BM, Oppermann U. Crystal structures of the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase-1 (ERAP1) reveal the molecular basis for N-terminal peptide trimming. PNAS in press, April 2011

April 2011

DPhil Success

Congratulations to Aimee Duan, who has successfully defended her DPhil thesis. Thanks go to her supervisors, Professor Graham Russell and Professor Jim Triffitt.

April 2011

Boat Race Victory

Congratulations to Simon Hislop, one of Professor Carr's students, who was part of the Oxford crew that won last Saturday's boat race against Cambridge.

Oxford Biomedical Research Centre Open Day — 17 March

The Oxford Biomedical Research Centre is hosting an open day on Thursday 17 March.

The BRC engages in research across a total of fourteen different themes (not including musculoskeletal research, which is the ambit of the NDORMS / NOC Biomedical Research Unit).

Advances in Biomechanics and Mechanobiological Modelling

In collaboration with MediTech and Professor John Middleton of Cardiff University, Dr Richie Gill is hosting a meeting on Advances in Biomechanics and Mechanobiological Modelling at the Botnar Research Centre.

The meeting will bring together a broad range of those working in the field of mechanobiology to share ideas and develop new collaborations. Oral and poster presentations are invited by submission of a 150 word abstract to Rumana Faruque (faruquer@cf.ac.uk).

Understanding Outcomes

The current issue of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage (February 2011) highlights an article based on NDORMS research. They say:

There is an increasing movement to collect and report patient reported outcome measures (PROM’s) following total hip replacement (THR). In the UK, the procedure specific PROM of choice is the Oxford Hip Score (OHS).

See: What is a good patient reported outcome after total hip replacement? Arden et al. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2011 Feb;19(2):155-62.

February 2011

MSc Success

We are pleased to announce that Mr Neil Kruger was successful in defending his MSc Thesis last Thursday. Congratulations go to him and his supervisors, Mr Andrew Price and Mr Jonathan Rees for this achievement, as well as thanks to the internal examiner, Dr David Beard.

January 2011

Kappa Delta Young Investigator

Young-Min Kwon, who was a DPhil student with Professor David Murray, Dr Richie Gill and Dr David Beard, was awarded the Kappa Delta Young Investigators Award at the Orthopaedic Research Society meeting in Long Beach, California, earlier this month. This was for his thesis work on pseudotumour and resurfacing hip arthroplasty.

January 2011

DPhil Success

Ms Kirsten Petrie has successfully defended her DPhil viva today. Many congratulations to Kirsten and her supervisors, Professors Graham Russell, Jim Triffitt and Steffen Knapp.

January 2011

DPhil Successes

Congratulations to Yiwei Qiu and Xiao Wang, who were both successful in their DPhil viva's last week.

December 2010

Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Moving to Oxford

The Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology Trust and Oxford University have entered into a collaborative agreement for Oxford University and the Kennedy Trust to build a new rheumatology research institute at Oxford University. The Kennedy Trust is a charity supporting research into the mechanisms and treatment of rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

Since 2000, the Kennedy Trust has been providing grant support to the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the Imperial College School of Medicine. The Kennedy Institute at Imperial College houses 120 scientists focusing on both basic and clinical research programmes; it has contributed substantially to our understanding of these diseases. Prior to the transfer of its staff to Imperial College, the Kennedy Trust conducted its own research into rheumatic diseases; its scientists, led by Professors Sir Ravinder Maini and Sir Marc Feldmann, were responsible for the demonstration that antibodies to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) could be an important new therapeutic modality for rheumatoid arthritis, initiating a new era in the treatment of this disease.

The agreement with Oxford University provides for the creation of a new Kennedy Research Institute on Oxford University’s Old Road Campus adjacent to the UK’s largest musculoskeletal clinical centre, the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. The Chairman of the Kennedy Trust, James Davis, said “The Kennedy Institute at Imperial College has had a very successful ten years. The Trustees are very excited at the prospect of this new institute at Oxford becoming a world leader in research into rheumatology and inflammatory and autoimmune disease.”

Oxford University has identified research into the inflammatory mechanisms of joint disease as a major strategic priority that aligns well with the substantial clinical presence in this field at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and the strong immunology and inflammation research programmes elsewhere in the University. The Old Road Campus in Oxford will place the new Institute in close proximity both with the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and with facilities that support a range of biomedical research activities including structural biology, genomics, proteomics, cell biology, clinical trials and epidemiology. Professor Andrew Carr, the Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in Oxford, said “Having the new Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology in Oxford will provide us with an opportunity to create the world’s leading programme in inflammatory arthritis. The existing expertise in clinical and basic science in Oxford, combined with those of the new Kennedy Institute, will bring together on one site a remarkable array of talent focused on improving the treatment and therapy of these disabling diseases.“

November 2010

Clinical Research Fellowship for Hannah Oag

Hannah Oag has been awarded an Orthopaedic Clinical Research Fellowship by Arthritis Research UK. She will be investigating Improving treatment of shoulder tendon degeneration: understanding the relationship between damage, pain and disability.

More information about the fellowship can be found on the Arthritis Research UK website.

November 2010

Kadoorie Centre Newsletter

The Summer 2010 newsletter from the Kadoorie Centre provides updates on their projects including using platelets to encourage faster healing and new understanding in predicting outcomes for severely injured trauma patients.

Several of the researchers at the Kadoorie Centre are members of NDORMS because many cases of trauma involve musculoskeletal systems of the body.

November 2010

Congratulations to Hannah Cornell

Congratulations are in order for Hannah Cornell, who has successfully defended her thesis: Factors Contributing to Chondroplasia in Degenerate Rotator Cuff Disease. She has worked on this under the supervision of Professor Andrew Carr and Dr Philippa Hulley. Her doctorate will be awarded shortly, pending minor corrections.

September 2010

Farewell to Guillaume Mabilleau, PhD

Guillaume joined the Department in 2006 as a Furlong Research Fellow. During his stay in Oxford he has followed a number of research paths and was awarded the Diabetes UK-RD Lawrence Research Fellowship in 2009. He is moving to the University of Angers in France, where he will be responsible for the new microscopy platform and also a PI at INSERM U922. He will continue his research on skeletal complications associated with diabetes mellitus.

September 2010

Further Reading

Each researcher profile on our website contains a list of their publications (for example, see Professor Andrew Carr. Now, in addition to links to viewing further details and full text articles via the PubMed website you can switch to use UK PubMed Central as your information source instead. UK PubMed Central is an initiative supported by some of our major funders and provides a number of innovative tools to promote scientific discovery by exposing useful links between the writings of different researchers.

August 2010

Special Talks and Exhibition by Thermo Fisher Scientific

On 16th June we welcome three specialists from Thermo Fisher Scientific to the Botnar Research Centre to speak to us on the following areas:

• An overview of RNA technology looking at the rational behind the design and setup of knockdown experiments and also a brief discussion on the validation of these results using qPCR — a short presentation will be given by Mark Hewitson.
• Quantitative protein and proteomic approaches for new users — a brief talk by Alex Tattersall.
• Advances in Mass spec equipment and protein labelling techniques. Comparing the levels of hundreds of protein between multiple samples with the help of a proteomics facility (SILAC & Tandem Mass Tags) — Talk will be given by Pauline Edser.

The company's representatives will be in Botnar Room G52 on 16th June from 10am with a small exhibition and the above talks will run from 12:30-1:30pm in G38. Lunch will be kindly provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific in G52 from 12 noon.

Guests from other departments are welcome to join us.

May 2010

Congratulations to Dr Philippa Hulley

Dr Philippa Hulley has been elected to the Committee of the British Society for Matrix Biology (BSMB). Oxford will be hosting the Spring 2012 BSMB meeting. The BSMB particularly welcomes students and Postdocs, providing a variety of awards and travel bursaries, which are detailed on its website.

April 2010

Kadoorie Centre Newsletter

The Winter 2009 newsletter from the Kadoorie Centre provides updates on their projects including using a Wii game system as a rehabilitation tool and information about the new Ankle Injury Management (AIM) trial.

Several of the researchers at the Kadoorie Centre are members of NDORMS because many cases of trauma involve musculoskeletal systems of the body.

March 2010

Skeletons at Stokenchurch

One of the NDORMS Research Fellows, Dr David Simpson, recently visited Stokenchurch Primary School to talk to pupils about musculoskeletal science and answer their questions, which included “how strong is gravity?” and “how thick is your skin?” along with things more directly related to bone and joint research. Together with Charlie, the departmental skeleton, he found them an enthusiastic audience, summed up by this quote from one of them: “Brilliant, it was really good and informative, I enjoyed all of it and found out a lot about the human body.”

February 2010

New Book on Rheumatoid Arthritis

A new book, Rheumatoid Arthritis, has been published providing a clear summary of current understanding of this condition. Dr Raashid Luqmani is one of the editors of the work and the contributors include many members of this department and also consultants from the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

Rheumatoid Arthritis affects up to 2% of the UK population and can cause significant disability. However, as the book highlights, recent advances in understanding the disease have led to improved treatments for the disease.

February 2010

Breakthroughs in Ankylosing Spondylitis research

A breakthrough in research into Ankylosing Spondylitis, involving scientists from NDORMS as well as partners in the US and Australia, has been reported on the BBC News website.

Lead researcher, Dr Paul Wordsworth, is quoted as saying:

We knew there was a strong genetic component to this disease, and we now have the foundation we need for future research to pin down the genetic causes of this condition. Cheaper or curative alternatives are a pressing need for this debilitating disease.

The department runs a number of trials furthering understanding of this condition. The abstract of the related scientific paper, Genome-wide association study of ankylosing spondylitis identifies non-MHC susceptibility loci, can be found online.

January 2010

Oxford Knee Surgeons Share Expertise

Top surgeons from across the country recently joined leading researchers from NDORMS at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre to discuss partial knee replacement techniques and developments in the treatment of arthritis of the knee. Research programmes seeking to understand the impact of knee replacement or surgical repair on the disease are underway as part of the hospital and University's Biomedical Research Unit studies. Further details can be found on the NOC Website.

December 2009

HTA Appointment for Professor Sallie Lamb

Professor Sallie Lamb, who holds the Kadoorie Chair of Trauma Rehabilitation at Oxford as well as being Director of the Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, has been appointed as Chair of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme's Clinical Evaluation and Trials Board.

Further details can be found on the HTA Website.

November 2009

DPhil Success for Hemant Pandit

Hemant Pandit has successfully completed his DPhil on the subject of Sagittal Plane Kinematics After Knee Arthroplasty. This used the imaging technique of video fluoroscopy to compare the movements of various knee replacement designs after implantation and compared this with the movements of healthy human knees.

The study concluded that total knee replacements (TKR) do not reproduce normal knee movements and this may explain the functional limitations that some patients experience after a TKR. On the other hand, patients with unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) have a better function and UKRs reproduce normal knee movements. The work also looked at the possibility of using a UKR in patients with end-stage arthritis and without an anterior cruciate ligament and in patients with arthritis affecting the lateral (outer) compartment of the knee. In both these scenarios, use of a mobile bearing UKR is feasible and successful provided appropriate changes to surgical technique are made and a different design of UKR (domed Oxford UKR) is used for managing lateral compartment arthritis.

These findings will help the many people who require surgical intervention to help with their knee problems.

October 2009

Congratulations to Dr Richie Gill

Congratulations are offered to Dr Richie Gill, a senior member of the department, who has recently been elected to the British Orthopaedic Research Society Committee as Committee Member (Engineering) for a period of three years.

Dr Gill is a University Lecturer in Orthopaedic Engineering and Group Head (Engineering) of the Oxford Orthopaedic Engineering Centre based at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences.

September 2009

NDORMS Website Updated

The NDORMS website has been updated. If you were familiar with the layout of the previous site, take advantage of the graphical sitemap or the search tool shown at the top of every page to track down the information you are looking for.

The new design includes a page of technical details, which explains some of the features of the site. These make it easier to keep up to date with departmental information, including news, job vacancies and teaching seminars.

August 2009

Joint Ventures - On Video

Four videos from the inaugural Joint Ventures lecture series have been published via YouTube. These show the two talks, Surgery for Back Pain — does it work? and The Science of Disc Problems, each in two parts.

The series aims to involve, inform and educate patients and the public in all aspects of Musculoskeletal research in Oxford and to improve the relevance, quality and appropriateness of that research from the patient's perspective. Sharing videos online is a way of broadening the reach of the project.

For the next meeting, in October this year, it is hoped to broadcast a live video stream via the internet to pursue this philosophy further.

July 2009

Television Appearance for Mr Rees

Mr Jonathan Rees, a University lecturer in in Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskelatal Science and Honorary Consultant Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon, is due to appear on BBC South in the programme being broadcast tonight at 6:30pm.

Mr Rees has been a lecturer in the department since 2004 and is involved with a wide range of patient treatment and clinical research around elbow and shoulder conditions.

Further information about his work in the orthopaedic skills lab can be found on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Trust website.

June 2009

Joint Ventures - Today

A new lecture series, Joint Ventures, starts today, Tuesday 19 May, in the atrium and lecture theatre of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. The aim of the series is:

To involve, inform and educate patients and the public in all aspects of Musculoskeletal research in Oxford. To improve the relevance, quality and appropriateness of that research from the patient's perspective.

The first of the series will feature Dr Jeremy Fairbank on Surgery for Back Pain — does it work? and Dr Jill Urban on The Science of Disc Problems.

For more information see: Joint Ventures.

May 2009

Professor Carr Appointed as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences

Congratulations to Professor Andrew Carr who has been appointed as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Academy Fellows are elected for outstanding contributions to the advancement of medical science, for innovative application of scientific knowledge and conspicuous service to healthcare.

For more information see the news item on the main University website.

May 2009

Joint Ventures - Public Lecture Series

A new lecture series, entitled Joint Ventures, starts on 19 May in the atrium and lecture theatre of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. The aim of the series is:

To involve, inform and educate patients and the public in all aspects of Musculoskeletal research in Oxford. To improve the relevance, quality and appropriateness of that research from the patient's perspective.

The first of the series will feature Dr Jeremy Fairbank on Surgery for Back Pain — does it work? and Dr Jill Urban on The Science of Disc Problems.

For more information see: Joint Ventures.

April 2009

Congratulations to Dr Mabilleau

Dr Guillaume Mabilleau has received a 3 year fellowship from Diabetes Research UK. Dr Mabilleau has been working in the department for the past three years as a Furlong Research Fellow.

April 2009

MSc in Rheumatology Applications

The deadline for online applications for the MSc in Rheumatology course (January 2010 intake) has been extended to Friday 17 July 2009. Paper applications can be submitted up until Friday 18 September 2009.

For more details see information on applications.

March 2009

New NIHR Senior Investigators Appointed in Department

The department congratulates Professor David Murray, Professor Paul Dieppe and Professor Cyrus Cooper who have been appointed as Senior Investigators by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This is a national scheme that recognises leading researchers, who then provide support and advice to the NIHR research faculty.

They join Professor Sallie Lamb, who was appointed at the launch of the scheme in April 2008.

More information can be found in the Department of Health announcement.

March 2009

Botnar Research Centre Director Honoured

Professor Cyrus Cooper, Director of the Botnar Research Centre, has been presented with the inaugural Duchess of Cornwall Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of osteoporosis. The award was presented to Professor Cooper by the Duchess of Cornwall at the official opening of the National Osteoporosis Society's recently extended headquarters and new information centre.

More from the Nuffield Orthopaedic Trust.

February 2009

Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Take Part in Major Statin Trial

Rheumatoid arthritis patients at the NOC are being invited to take part in a major new trial to find out if taking statins reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke among RA sufferers. The study is inviting patients from the NOC to join almost 4,000 people involved in a UK-wide five-year £1.1m trial, funded jointly by two leading medical research charities, Arthritis Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

NOC rheumatologist Dr Raashid Luqmani, head of the local research team, said: "It has been known for some time that there is a link between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular problems and we think that this may be partly due to early and more advanced blood vessel damage because of the inflammation levels seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

More from the Nuffield Orthopaedic Trust.

February 2009

Surgeon Gets Top UK Trauma Job

Professor Keith Willett, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals and Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery at the University of Oxford, has been appointed the new National Clinical Director for Trauma Care at the Department of Health.

More from Oxford University News.

More from Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals News.

January 2009

Osteoclast Breakthrough

Dr Sabokbar's team has identified the regulatory role of interleukin-32 on osteoclast differentiation and activation.

Research Article.

January 2009

Continued Success for the Department

The Department congratulates Prof Keith Willet and Dr David Beard with their recent successful applications. Prof Willett has been awarded £2.3m to research the "Comparison of close contact cast (CCC) technique to open surgical reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) in the treatment of unstable ankle fractures in patients over 60 years. Dr Beard has been awarded £2.5m to research the "Total or Partial Knee Arthroplasty Trial (TOPKAT)

Both these trials are to be funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme.

January 2009

Congratulations to Dr Raashid Luqmani

Textbook of Orthopaedics, Trauma and Rheumatology edited by Dr Raashid Luqmani, James Robb, Daniel Porter and John Keating has been awarded "The best new edited book of 2008" by the Royal Society of Medicine and Society of Authors:

• Royal Society of Medicine website
• The Society of Authors website

November 2008

Protein Hope for Arthritis Sufferers

Researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Manchester have identified a naturally occurring protein molecule that could help develop new therapies for conditions such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

The protein, called TSG-6, not only protects against inflammation but also actively inhibits bone erosion in those affected by disease. The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, advance our understanding of tissue regeneration and repair.

Inflammation is the body's natural response to tissue injury, but if it works overtime, the effects can be devastating. When the inflammatory response goes awry tissue is destroyed faster than it can be replaced and, in the joints, this means deterioration of cartilage and bone.

Full story

September 2008

Professor Russell Hosts AGM and Heritage Event

The NOC's Annual General Meeting took place on Friday 26th September where this year the 'Michael Benson Lecture' was given by Professor Graham Russell, the Norman Collisson Professor of Musculoskeletal Pharmacology, at Oxford University. Professor Russell spoke about his work in the treatment of osteoporosis and other bone disorders.

Professor Russell played a central role in the discovery of biological effects of bisphosphonates, and in their evaluation for the treatment of bone disorders, work which began at the NOC in the 1960's. These drugs now have a premier place in the treatment of osteoporosis, Paget's disease and malignant disease of bone.

Full story

September 2008

University and NOC Partnership

A new partnership between the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust (NOC) and the University of Oxford could help secure the future development of specialist orthopaedic surgery and the treatment of musculoskeletal disease in a centre of excellence of international significance.

The NOC is supporting moves to create an Academic Health Science Centre in Oxford and the opportunity to harness the world class research expertise of the University.

The Board of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre believes the proposals for a health science centre will bring more benefits to the treatment and care of patients.

Full story

August 2008

Super Scooter Makes Tracks for Africa

Professor Chris Lavy, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery has undertaken trials on the scooter at the hospital's specialist gait laboratory. Two of the prototypes have just been sent to Malawi for further tests.

The scooter has been designed by his colleague Mr John Church, a retired orthopaedic surgeon from High Wycombe and built by Bristol-based design engineer Andrew Bachelor.

The scooter, using the working title ADS (African Disability Scooter), has been purposely designed for people in Africa who have lost a leg and find it difficult to get around, particularly because of the rough terrain.

Full story

July 2008

Congratulations to Graham Russell

Seven out of 44 new Fellows announced by the Royal Society today are Oxford academics. Oxford has more new Fellows this year than any other single institution......

Professor Graham Russell FRS, Professor of Musculoskeletal Pharmacology, The Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Honorary Consultant, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre

Graham Russell's research on tissue mineralization and pyrophosphate set the scene for the discovery of bisphosphonates as drugs. He was a leader in that discovery process and in research that led to the application and use of the first generation bisphosphonates. He brought novelty to this field at its very beginning, and again almost 30 years later, with his work on the mechanism of action of these drugs, which are now the major drugs used for treating disorders of bone resorption.

Full story

May 2008

Hospital Wins £1m a Year to Improve Link Between Research and Treatment

The NOC has received a major boost by winning major funding to get scientific breakthroughs out of the laboratory and into hospital clinics more quickly.

The hospital has secured £3.75m over four years to boost research into developing treatments for chronic bone conditions such as osteoporosis and advances in joint replacement surgery.

It was one of only three hospitals in the UK to be selected by a distinguished international panel of health experts to be Biomedical Research Units (BMUs) in Musculoskeletal Disease.

Full story

May 2008

Sir Michael Kadoorie Endows Chair in Trauma Rehabilitation

Thanks to a £1 million benefaction from Sir Michael Kadoorie, the University is appointing a Professor of Trauma Rehabilitation....

Full story

March 2008

Oxford Clinicians Lead Largest UK Study into Shoulder Pain

A multidisciplinary team of Oxford clinicians has been awarded £1.97m by the Department of Health Technology Assessment Programme to co-ordinate and deliver a national study looking at the best method of treating shoulder tendon tears of the rotator cuff muscles. This is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain and disability.

Full story

February 2008

NOC Orthopaedic Surgeon Receives £200k for Arthritis Research

NOC Orthopaedic Surgeon, Stephen Gwilym, has won an Arthritis Research UK grant of £201,460 to use brain imaging to understand why some arthritis patients get more pain than others.

The aims of the study - which is a first of its kind in the world - are twofold:

1. it is hoped that the findings will determine why some people suffer from the condition more than others and are therefore more likely to need joint replacement operations; and
2. 2) the results could help pinpoint which patients are most likely to benefit from certain types of therapy, including medication and surgery.

Full story

January 2008

UK Scientists in World's First Major Genome Screen for Osteoarthritis

UK scientists are to mount the world's first search of the human genome for genetic risk factors for osteoarthritis.

On World Arthritis Day (October 12) Arthritis Research UK has announced plans to run a definitive genome-wide association study of osteoarthritis susceptibility called arcOGEN; the largest study of its kind ever undertaken. The study will involve screening the DNA of 8,000 people suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee and 6,000 healthy people to compare the differences.

Full story

January 2008

Musculoskeletal Sciences Gears Up

Following our RAE submission musculoskeletal science has been recognised as a major theme area for research within the Medical Sciences Division. Professor Carr has been co-opted onto the Divisional research committee to represent the views of musculoskeletal science in the Division's research agenda. Our increased research turnover is reflected in recent funding successes. NDOS has submitted 47 funding applications since January 2007, 12 of which have been successful, 12 rejected & 23 are still pendings.

October 2007

RCUK Fellowship for Dr. Philippa Hulley

Congratulations to Dr. Philippa Hulley for being awarded a prestigious Research Councils UK Fellowship. As part of her appointment she has also become a Fellow of St. Hilda's College.

September 2007

Duchess of Cornwall Opens Phase 2 of Musculoskeletal Research Centre

Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall, laid the foundation stone for an extension to the Botnar Research Centre, the home of Oxford University research into musculoskeletal science. The laying of the stone formed part of a broader visit in which Her Royal Highness opened the new £42m hospital buildings of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre . The Botnar Research Centre , situated next to hospital, allows researchers to work closely with patients to maximise the practical application of their work.

July 2007

Date Palm Allergens and Sandstorm Dust

Aaron Kwaassi recently joined us from the Research Centre, King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He brings with him many years of specialist research expertise in the isolation, identification and classification of disease-associated compounds and peptides with diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Aaron joins forces with Graham Russell and Udo Oppermann’s Molecular Pharmacology program.

March 2007

New Years Honours

Professor Lavy in New Years Honour List.

The Department would like to congratulate Professor Chris Lavy, who has been awarded an OBE in the New Years Honour list for Orthopaedic Services to Africa. Chris has been working in Malawi for 10 years with the medical charity CBM, supported by The Beit Trust and Cure International where the focus of his work was with trauma and children's limbs.

January 2007

New Bone Biology Book Sold Out and Reprinted Within First Year

NDOS authors Dr Roger Smith and Prof Paul Wordsworth published "Clinical and Biochemical Disorders of the Skeleton" with Oxford University Press in 2005. This book describes the classic metabolic bone diseases and newer disorders in the context of recent advances in molecular biology of the skeleton. The book benefits from their lifetime accumulations of experience and scholarship. Each chapter untangles complex topics and includes a foundation of material to help the reader understand the detailed data presented. The style is clear with a refreshing dose of the authors' opinions; this gives the impression that they are speaking to colleagues about a topic in which they are happily engrossed' (Joan Marini for N Engl J Med 2006, 354: 2518-9). ISBN 0-19-261740-0.

January 2007

Recognition of Distinction Award

Spinal surgeon Mr Jeremy Fairbanks has been appointed Professor from Oct 2006 in recognition of his scholarly contribution to the University of Oxford.

Other members of the department who have been recognised for their achievements in their individual fields include:

• Dr John Loughlin, awarded tenureship in his post as University Lecturer in Musculoskeletal Sciences (held since 2002).
• Mr Andrew Price (Clinical Lecturer in Orthopaedic Surgery and Hon. Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon) has been appointed as Reader in Musculoskeletal Sciences.
• Mr Stephen McDonnell (Henry Smith Research Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England) and Mr Richard Benson (Girdlestone Scholar, NOC), both Botnar MD research students, have just successfully interviewed for posts as Specialist Registrars in Trauma and Orthopaedics in the Oxford deanery, due to start in Jan 2007.

Congratulations all!

November 2006

Botnar Scientists Collaborate on Discovery of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) Gene (published in Nature Genetics)

Several decades of dedicated research into this rare bone disorder by FOP consortium members Prof Jim Triffitt (Botnar) and Dr Roger Smith (NDOS) has paid off with the discovery of the mutated BMP receptor found in all FOP patients screened to date. Patients develop skeletal malformations and progressive extraskeletal ossification for which there is as yet no treatment or cure.

Shore EM, Xu M, Feldman GJ, Fenstermacher DA; FOP International Research Consortium; Brown MA, Kaplan FS. A recurrent mutation in the BMP type I receptor ACVR1 causes inherited and sporadic fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Nat Genet. 2006 May;38(5):525-7.

September 2006

Bioengineer from Berlin Joins Botnar Research Centre

Dr Mark Thompson, who recently moved to Oxford from the Charité Hospital in Berlin to take up a lectureship at the Engineering department, leads research in mechanobiology, a field which is key to realising the potential of regenerative therapies in the treatment of musculoskeletal disease. Mechanical knowledge at the cell and tissue level is essential to the understanding of how degenerative and regenerative processes occur, and therefore also essential in any attempt to control them. Mark plans to focus on understanding the mechanical conditions that accompany the initiation and progression of cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis, in collaboration with scientists and surgeons at the Botnar Research Centre.

August 2006

Botnar Research Centre Produces First Crystal Structure of Human Bisphosphonate Drug Target (published in PNAS)

A strategic collaboration between bone biologists and Structural Genomics Consortium scientists at the Botnar Research Centre has produced the first high-resolution x-ray structures of the human farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS) enzyme in complexes with risedronate and zoledronate, two of the leading N-BPs in clinical use.

Kathryn L. Kavanagh, Kunde Guo, James E. Dunford, Xiaoqiu Wu, Stefan Knapp, Frank H. Ebetino, Michael J. Rogers, R. Graham G. Russell, and Udo Oppermann (2006). "The molecular mechanism of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates as antiosteoporosis drugs." PNAS 103 (20): 7829-7834

August 2006

Dr Helen Knowles Joins the Department

A warm welcome to senior Postdoc Dr Helen Knowles, who has joined the Department to head up the research team of Prof Nick Athanasou. Prof Athanasou is part of the EuroBoNeT Network of Excellence, recently awarded €13 million to study the pathology, biology and genetics of bone tumours. The four main participants in the research project are LUMC, Munster (osteosarcomas), Oxford (giant cell tumours) and Bologna (Ewing sarcomas). Giant cell tumours are localised, aggressive tumours which affect the bone, and there is a high likelihood of the tumour recurring. Helen comes to us from a background in cancer cell and molecular biology, specialising in the hypoxic response in macrophages. She will be leading 2 DPhil students, Richard Taylor and Francesca Jones, on a number of projects investigating factors involved in osteoclast activation and their potential as markers / prognostic factors in GCTB and Paget's sarcoma.

August 2006