We are part of the collaborative MRC funded project at Newcastle University which aims to validate new treatments and generate pre-clinical data on drug repurposing through primary cell work and treatment and deep phenotyping of three genetically engineered mouse models of skeletal dysplasia.
Grant awarded: 2025-2028 Drug repurposing in skeletal bone diseases (lead PI: Prof Michael Briggs, co-I: Dr Katarzyna Pirog, Prof David Young, named PDRA: Dr Ella Dennis)
We are sharing our tissue engineering expertise in this exciting project exploring the aggregation potential of muscle progenitor cells and possibility of bioreactor scale-up. The work is a collaboration between Newcastle University, the University College London (UCL) and the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA).
Grant awarded: 2024-2027 (lead PI: Dr Katarzyna Pirog, co-I: Dr Leonardo Rios Solis (UCL), Dr Rosario Romero (FERA))
Horizon Europe MSCA project CHANGE (Cellular Homeostasis ANd AGing in Connective TissuE Disorders) unites 10 universities and 5 companies across Europe to provide PhD training and knowledge transfer needed to increase our capacity to study molecular pathways, mechanisms and multimorbidities in rare and common musculoskeletal conditions.
Grant awarded: 2022-2026 HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01 CHANGE (101072766; Newcastle PIs – lead PI: Dr Katarzyna Pirog also as work package lead (WP6), co-I: Prof M Briggs)
Main achievements:
- Bouchenafa R, Johnson de Sousa Brito FM, Pirog KA. Involvement of kinesins in skeletal dysplasia – a review. 2024 Apr 22. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00613.2023. Online ahead of print.
- Johnson de Sousa Brito FM, Bouchenafa R, Pearson R, Pirog KA. Microtubule-associated motor proteins in skeletal development and health. In: Rossi, A., Zaucke, F. (eds) The Extracellular Matrix in Genetic Skeletal Disorders. Biology of Extracellular Matrix, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70835-0_11
The JGW Patterson Foundation have kindly sponsored the purchase of the state of the art Faxitron MultiFocus X-ray machine which will allow semi-quantitative bone densitometry measurements, detailed imagining of bone abnormalities and precise measurements of the joint space narrowing as a non-invasive assessment of osteoarthritis progression in animal models of skeletal disease.
Grant awarded: 2023-2026 Faxitron MultiFocus diagnostic Xray machine for Xray for analysis of calcified tissues in animal models of human disease (lead PI: Dr K Pirog, co-Is: Prof D Young, Prof M Briggs)
We are part of the collaborative MRC project grant awarded to the Newcastle and Liverpool Universities to investigate the impact of mechanical trauma on the progression of two age-related skeletal complications (osteoarthritis and osteochondritis dissecans) in genetically engineered mouse models of skeletal dysplasia.
Grant awarded: 2023-2026 Defining the role of aggrecan and type IX collagen in osteoarthritis and osteochondritis dissecans through in vivo studies of genetic bone diseases (lead PI: Prof Michael Briggs, co-I: Dr Katarzyna Pirog, Prof David Young, Dr Matthew German, Dr Blandine Poulet, named PDRA: Dr Ella Dennis)
Collaborative networks:
ECMage is a national research network funded in 2022 by the UKRI investigating healthy ageing of extracellular matrix. The ECMage network brings together expertise in key aspects of ageing, matrix biology, chronobiology, computational modelling and tissue engineering across UK to develop novel models to study ECM ageing. We are part of this exciting network which supports connective tissue aging research collaborations across the UK.
CHANGE is an international doctoral training network funded by Horizon Europe as part of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA). It unites 10 European universities and 5 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with the aim to uncover molecular mechanisms in connective tissue ageing and disease. We are partners in this project, with training exchanges with the University of Padova, University of Pavia and LifeTec Group in Eindhoven.