• New research reveals link between ankle pain and onset of knee osteoarthritis
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• Knee OA guidance for clinicians simplified and streamlined
• Size does matter

Having worked as a postdoctoral researcher in epidemiology and clinical studies at NDORMS for 3 years, Thomas joined the Kennedy Institute in 2021 to work with Professor Tonia Vincent’s team on the STEp-UP OA project: ‘Synovial Fluid To Define Molecular Endotypes by Unbiased Proteomics in Osteoarthritis (OA)’.

OA is an extremely common condition, and it is widely recognised as a heterogeneous disease with many clinical manifestations known as 'phenotypes'. The variability in clinical phenotypes has led researchers to ask whether there are molecular ‘endotypes’ (subgroups) within OA. Our aim is to better understand the molecular pathways that lead to the development of OA and joint symptoms. Thomas’ work explores the relationship between protein expression, patient reported outcome measures of pain, and biological response of human derived neurons to OA synovial fluid.

Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) and the assessment of treatment efficacy in knee OA remains an active interest for Thomas. Several of Thomas' projects are working towards identifying and defining new structural treatment targets for use in knee OA clinical trials. Thomas is keen to develop collaborations and projects in ankle OA. Thomas has extensive experience in a range of quantitative research methods, musculoskeletal imaging, clinical and observational study design, and project and database management.

As part of his research career, Thomas has had the privilege of presenting work at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) conference and the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) conference.  Thomas has established collaborations with the University of Southampton, the University of Sydney and the University of Manchester with several studies focused on understanding the mechanism of disease and identifying early risk factors for knee OA. 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0499-3033