Early career research

Understanding the mechanisms that drive disease and repair 

Ernest Long

Ernest Long is a Doctoral Fellow supported by an Arthritis UK PhD Studentship. His research builds on Thorup et al., 2020 (Science Translational Medicine) to investigate molecular mechanisms driving early osteoarthritis, with a focus on translational insights that support the development of disease-modifying therapies. 

Primary Supervisor: Dr Suzanne Eldridge 

Sinduja Sivarajan

Sinduja Sivarajan is one of the inaugural Frailty: Inclusivity and Resilience in Ageing Research (FAIRER) doctoral fellows at the Advanced Centre for Healthy Ageing (ACHA). Her thesis evaluates novel approaches to monitor healing following lower limb fragility fractures in a bid to optimise mobility and function in older people.

Primary Supervisor: Dr Jerry Tsang

Local data, global reach 

Lisa Newington, NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) award. This postdoctoral training award supports development and skills enhancement in clinical data science including real-world data expertise and networks with an explicit focus on musculoskeletal care and work and health.  

Ben Gabbott, National Joint Registry Research Fellow and MRC Doctoral Fellow - 

Effects of mental health disorders on total knee replacement outcomes. 
Using linked National Joint Registry data with routine health data to understand how anxiety and depression influence patient-reported outcomes, revision risk and healthcare utilisation after knee arthroplasty. Primary Supervisor: Professor Xavier Griffin. 

Usama Rehman NIHR Doctoral Fellow 

RESTORE: Real-world Evidence to Strengthen Trials in Orthopaedic REsearch. 
 
Can routinely collected healthcare data be used to emulate clinical trials and generate more inclusive, real-world evidence in orthopaedic surgery? This research uses linked electronic health records and causal inference methods to evaluate outcomes after orthopaedic interventions, with a focus on hip fracture surgery and orthopaedic devices. Primary Supervisor: Professor Xavier Griffin. 

Euan McComiskie, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) doctoral fellow. His research focuses on increasing the informatics competency of the allied health professional workforce. Primary Supervisor: Dr Lisa Newington. 

Testing what works, and what doesn't, in real healthcare settings 

Catherine Hilton, Barts Charity Doctoral Fellow –  

Rehabilitation after complex fractures 
Designing and feasibility-testing rehabilitation interventions for patients in the Limb Reconstruction service, with embedded process evaluation to understand what support patients can follow. Primary Supervisor: Professor Xavier Griffin. 

Jodie Adams, NIHR Doctoral Fellow. Her research area of interest is to identify and address the unmet needs of those with maladaptive concerns about falls following hip fracture. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan. 

Sarah Pope, NIHR Predoctoral Fellow. Her research interest focuses on the design and feasibility testing of behaviour change intervention for adults with vertebral fragility fracture. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan. 

Sophie Barlow, NIHR Predoctoral Fellow. Her research interest focuses on the design and feasibility testing of physiotherapy intervention for adults with rare bone conditions. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan. 

Lenise Clothier, NIHR Pre application support fund and Royal College of Occupational Therapists Evidence Synthesis Award. Her research area of interest is to design and feasibility test an occupational therapy led intervention to increase the proportion of older adults with fragility fracture who have an advance care plan in place. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan. 

Claire Higgins, NIHR PASF. Her research interest lies in enabling all children and young people access to evidence informed physical activity, particularly those with sever impairments reliant on wheelchairs. Primary Supervisor: Dr Hortensia Gimeno. 

Closing the gap between evidence and everyday practice

Jessica Pawson, Health Advances in Underrepresented 
Populations and Disease Doctoral Fellow. Her research involves working with underserved communities in East London to identify barriers to engagement with physiotherapy and co-develop solutions that can be embedded into routine musculoskeletal services. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan.

Rene Gray, NIHR Predoctoral Fellow. He developed the ‘Out Of Bed training Programme’ to increase the proportion of patients mobilised by the day after surgery and the number of patients mobilised out of bed by healthcare assistants in a quality improvement study. His research focus is to evaluate scaling this intervention via an implementation-effectiveness trial. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan.

Carina Carter, NIHR Predoctoral Fellow and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy  (CSP) Predoctoral Fellow. Her research evaluates who benefits from community appointment days as a new model of musculoskeletal care. Primary Supervisor: Professor Katie Sheehan. 

Daniel Ceh, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) Predoctoral Fellow. His research seeks to explore the experiences and rehabilitation needs of young people with hand injuries resulting from knife crime. Primary Supervisor: Dr Lisa Newington. 

Robert Molloy, NIHR PASF. His research interest lies in supporting children and young people with motor disorders to achieve specific, functional goals meaningful to them and their families by teaching them how to find their own solutions to performance problems, rather than direct instruction. Primary Supervisor: Dr Hortensia Gimeno.