Raymond Purves Bone & Joint Research Laboratory

The Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Laboratory leads Australia in research into some of the key musculoskeletal diseases affecting our population. This includes osteoarthritis, tendon injury and intervertebral disc degeneration.

There is currently no cure for these common, chronic disabling conditions and long-term management options are limited. It is only through a better understanding of the disease and tissue breakdown, that we will be able to develop therapies to modify the conditions.

The Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Laboratory team is well placed to improve the health of patients with musculoskeletal disease. We are located alongside Royal North Shore Hospital and have developed close relationships with orthopaedic surgeons at the hospital. This means our latest research developments can be efficiently incorporated into future clinical care.

Lead

Professor Christopher Little

Director Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Labs
Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School
Kolling Institute of Medical Research
Institute of Bone & Joint Research
Member of the Charles Perkins Centre

People

Dr Jiao Jiao Li, PhD

Postdoctoral scientist, NHMRC Early Career Fellow
Honorary Associate, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney
Chief investigator, ARC Training Centre for Innovative BioEngineering

Dr Cindy Shu, PhD

Postdoctoral scientist

Dr Sanaa Zaki

Postdoctoral scientist
Senior Lecturer in Professional Practice
Academic Advisor DVM Admissions
Honorary Associate Sydney Medical School Northern

Dr James Melrose, PhD

Honorary research fellow
Honorary Senior Research Fellow
Surgery, Northern Clinical School

Dr Margaret Smith, PhD

Honorary research fellow
Honorary Associate Institute for Bone &
Joint Research, Northern Clinical School
Member of the Charles Perkins Centre

Network

https://ibjr.sydney.edu.au/

Projects

Developing regenerative therapies for osteoarthritis – To investigate the interactions between stem cells and diseased joint cells, and build on this knowledge to develop new ways of treating osteoarthritis

Developing new implants for musculoskeletal tissue repair – To develop and test tissue engineered methods of repairing musculoskeletal tissues including bones and joints

Publications