About
I am currently a senior lecturer in the department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science within the Institute of Lifecourse and Medical Sciences. My main research interests focus on defining the factors involved in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis, in order to find new targets to slow or prevent disease development and progression. Specifically, we use mouse models of osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal ageing to understand the role of the extracellular matrix in joint pathology (such as Fibrillin-1).
My PhD studies took place at The Royal Veterinary College in London in Professor Andrew Pitsillides group, on “Characterising a model for non-invasive loading of the murine knee joint: initial studies into the interplay between mechanical and genetic factors in osteoarthritis”. During this time I described a joint overloading model of the mouse knee joint that can be used to differentiate between initiation and progression phases of OA, as well as the interactions between mechanical loading and genetics in vivo.
Following a short 1 year post doc in the same lab, I was awarded a 3-years Foundation fellowship from Arthritis Research UK, on the role of FSTL3 (Follistatin-like 3, an inhibitor of Activin A) on osteoarthritis development, which started at Queen Mary University of London, under the sponsorship of Dr Francesco Dell’Accio. Just before starting this fellowship I was accepted as a Group Leader at University College London, with Professor David Abraham, where I finished my Foundation fellowship in December 2014. I was then successful in my application in January 2015 for a 5-years Career Development fellowship from Arthritis Research UK, on the effect of Fibrillin-1 loss in osteoarthritis, that I took to the University of Liverpool in 2016 as a Tenure Track fellow.
Prizes or Honours
- Young Investigator award (British Society for Matrix Biology (BSMB), 2014)