Introduction
The theme is led by Professor Andrew Carr at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), the largest European academic and clinical department in the field.
NDORMS runs a world-renowned competitive programme of research and teaching, employing 500 staff and over 100 postgraduate students, supported by a grant portfolio worth over £100m.
The department includes three world-leading research institutes: the Botnar Research Centre, the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology and the Kadoorie Centre.
It also houses the internationally recognised Centre for Statistics in Medicine and the accredited Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit, as well as the NIHR Thames Valley Clinical Research Network, and plays a lead role in the NIHR Translational Research Collaborations in inflammatory joint and rare bone diseases.
The Musculoskeletal theme encompasses inflammatory joint disease, trauma, degenerative joint disorders and rare bone diseases.
We will build on our established and proven strengths in identifying new pharmacological, surgical and rehabilitation treatments and accelerating their translation to the clinic.
We will also further develop Oxford’s promising tissue engineering implants and devices for the benefit of patients. The Musculoskeletal theme is part of the Technology and Big Data cluster of the NIHR Oxford BRC and interacts strongly with themes within the Precision Medicine, Immunity and Infection and Chronic Disease clusters.
The work of the Musculoskeletal Theme is focused around six interacting areas (image), all underpinned by their significant impact on society.
The overarching aim of the Musculoskeletal theme is to use cutting-edge methodologies to drive translational research in musculoskeletal science with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for patients with musculoskeletal disease.
Watch
Researching Rare Diseases of the Skeleton: The RUDY Study, presented by Dr M Kassim Javaid. A disease is defined as rare if it affects less than 1 in 2000 people, but the total number of people in Europe suffering from rare diseases is thought to be over 30 million. Rare Disease Day is designed to bring rare diseases and their impact on patients’ lives to the attention of the general public and decision makers.