BSMS researcher awarded prestigious fellowship
August 12, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Dr Rachael Stanley, BSMS Postdoctoral Research Fellow, has been awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for her research into tendons. Her research considers why tendons are the Achilles’ heel of the musculoskeletal system.
Healthy, fully functioning tendons are as important as the muscles and bones they attach to, but tendons frequently struggle to repair correctly and often do not return to a fully functional state post-injury. Different tendons have different functions; flexor tendons such as the Achilles, act as biological springs and are prone to injury, whereas extensor tendons need to be strong but not as elastic and aren’t frequently injured. Unravelling the differences between these two structures and their cell populations may lead us to understand the reasons why certain tendons are more prone to injury than others.
In addition to this, other factors, such as lifestyle, disease and use of particular drugs, make it even more likely for the tendon problems to occur. Use of certain antibiotics has been associated with an increase in musculoskeletal complications, including tendon injury. The likelihood of developing a tendon problem is further increased in those individuals who also are concurrently treated with glucocorticoids. Yet glucocorticoid injections are routinely used in pain management of tendon injury, for example the rotator cuff, suggesting a causal agent and treatment method for the same disorder.
Her fellowship will investigate whether cells from different tendons are formed from the same or similar cell population: Can tendon cells form tissue when placed into a different tendon? Do cells remember where they came from?
This research also aims to understand the affects of certain drugs and treatments on different tendons during development: Do tendons form? Are they normal and do they appear to function?
By understanding these processes, there is significant potential for direct patient benefit through the development of treatment strategies that promote the repair process (e.g. through the identification of particular tendon cell populations for effective transplantation into injured tendons) through to the introduction of particular factors that stimulate normal tendon tissue formation.
Stanley says:
“I am delighted to be awarded a prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, particularly as the Leverhulme Trust invites applications from all disciplines and as a result, fellowships are incredibly competitive. I was determined to successfully return to active research following my maternity leave and this fellowship provides me with a fantastic opportunity to take my own research in a new dynamic direction. It will hopefully facilitate my progression towards becoming an independent researcher and academic in the field of musculoskeletal biology.
I am grateful to the Brighton and Sussex Medical School for giving me the facilities and extra support necessary to conduct this research and I look forward to my continued working within Professor Darrell Evans’ Research Group”.
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the Will of the first Viscount Leverhulme. It is one of the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK, distributing funds of some £50 million every year. For further information about the schemes that the Leverhulme Trust fund visit their website at www.leverhulme.ac.uk