Musculoskeletal Biology PhD

The goal of the Department of Musculoskeletal Biology is to understand the processes that underlie ageing and disease in tissues such as skeletal muscle, bone, cartilage, tendon and ligament. Research is fundamental and encompasses disciplines including anatomy, biomechanics, physiology and molecular cell biology.

Overview

The Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease provides a powerful focus for understanding the many variables - from bioscience to social - that influence ageing and chronic disease in people throughout their lives.

The Department boasts an enviable array of expertise from medical and veterinary clinician-scientists, biomedical scientists and epidemiologists and has state-of-the-art facilities. Our research programmes are generously funded through grants from the MRC, BBSRC, NIH (USA), Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, Arthritis Research UK and other charities. Through the leadership within the institute the University of Liverpool is one of three academic partners in the MRC-Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA).

The key principle behind our research is the recognition over the last decade that to elucidate cell, organ or organismal function in health and disease requires an integrated approach, utilising cutting-edge technologies.

Our UK partners include the University of Sheffield and Newcastle University, whilst international collaborators include Masstricht University, the University of Michigan, the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center and Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Our research interests

We particularly welcome research proposals that match those of our researchers, including:

• The molecular and cellular process leading to age-related decline in musculoskeletal tissues
• Exciting approaches to enhance regeneration of tissues affected by frailty and age
• Understanding how age affects the biomechanics of gait and posture
• How a one health approach can help us to understand the effects of age and obesity in man and in animals.