Sally Roberts

Biography

Professor Sally Roberts is head of the Spinal Studies and Cartilage Repair Research Group in the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital at Oswestry. This group is part of the Arthritis Research UK Tissue Engineering Centre in a collaboration between scientists and clinicians at the universities of Aberdeen, Cambridge, Keele, Newcastle and York, and the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital.

Research and scholarship

Research theme: Regenerative Medicine

Areas of Interest:

Study of the intervertebral disc in health and pathology.
Understanding factors which can lead to disc cell death and dysfunction.
Identifying pathological pathways leading to disc degeneration, including study of inflammatory mediators which may be released from prolapsed intervertebral discs and degradative enzymes.
Determining factors which could control nerve growth into intervertebral discs.
Developing cell based treatments for disc degeneration.
Developing injectable nuclear replacements for patients with disc degeneration and back pain.
Working closely with clinicians delivering cell therapy for cartilage and bone repair, especially Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI.)
Monitoring the quality of repair tissue in cell based therapies of articular cartilage and attempting to establish standardised international assessment criteria.
Studying the production and expression of extracellular matrix components in ACI-treated patients.
Identifying biomarkers of cartilage degeneration for OA and discogenic back pain patients.
Developing alternative sources of cells for cartilage repair, eg MSCs from several tissues including umbilical cords for allogeneic therapies.
Assisting in clinical trials of cell therapy, especially ASCOT.

Centre for Spinal Studies:

Research work on-going in the Centre for Spinal Studies within the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital addresses 2 main clinical areas: Spinal Disorders, including back pain and deformities, and Spinal Injuries.

Several Keele researchers are based here including Professor Sally Roberts, Director of Spinal Research and Dr Karina Wright who leads the Spinal Injury research and is heavily involved in biomarkers for early osteoarthritis and predicting treatment outcome. Dr Claire Mennan, Dr Helen McCarthy, and Dr Charlotte Hulme are all post-doctoral researchers funded by the Arthritis Research UK working towards cartilage repair and biomarkers. Mike Williams manages a common database used for these patients. Dr Sharon Owen is the mainstay of the spinal research work now on-going.

Karina is working on identifying the mechanisms involved in bone marrow stromal cell (MSC) derived nerve growth, as many studies have shown that MSC transplantation may provide therapeutic benefits to people with spinal cord injury. Phil is studying proteins associated with calcification of cartilages, in both normal and pathological situations. Stefan is interested in non-union bone fractures, ie fractures which do not heal even after several different treatments. He is focusing on the isolation and characterisation of MSC from the non-union region in affected patients, to provide a better understanding of the biology which should lead to improved therapeutic options. Stefan is also trial manager for the first clinical trial of autologous expanded MSCs in the treatment of non-union.

Irena is studying the extracellular matrix molecules and their influence on innervation and vascularisation in the osteochondral tissue. This study is part of the EU funded MyJoint project (www.myjoint.org) which has the aim of creating a tissue engineered biological joint for patients with dysfunctional or damaged joints. Merlin is working on the development of cell transplantation and tissue engineering techniques for the treatment of pressure ulcers in skin.

In addition, within the Centre are several other researchers involved in related topics. Funding has been from many sources, including EPRSC, BBSRC, EU, the Institute of Orthopaedics Oswestry and several Medical Research Charities including the Arthritis Research Campaign.

Further information

Individual projects that are being undertaken can be found described briefly on the Institute of Orthopaedics website (http://www.orthopaedic-institute.org/joint-surgery-and-cell-therapies/ and http://www.orthopaedic-institute.org/spinal-studies/.)

Publications

Below are some recent publications from the full list of 23 book chapters and 116 full papers:

1. GARCIA J, MENNAN C, MCCARTHY HS, ROBERTS S, RICHARDSON JB, WRIGHT KT (2016) Chondrogenic Potency Analyses of Donor-Matched Chondrocytes and Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Bone Marrow, Infrapatellar Fat Pad, and Subcutaneous Fat. Stem Cells International, Article ID 6969726; doi:10.1155/2016/6969726.

2. SHARMA A, ROBERTS S, KUIPER NJ (2016) A case study: Glycosaminoglycan profiles of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) tissue improve as the tissue matures. The Knee. In Press
MENNAN C, BROWN S, MCCARTHY H, MAVROGONATOU E, KLETSAS D, GARCIA J, BALAIN B, RICHARDSON J, ROBERTS S (2016) Characterisation and immunomodulatory properties of MSC derived from whole human umbilical cord, Wharton’s jelly and Bone Marrow. FEBS Open Bio (In Press)

3. FOLDAGER C, BENDTSEN M, BERG LC, BRINCHMANN J, BRITTBERG M, BUNGER C, CANSECO J, CHEN L, CHRISTENSEN B, PAULINE COLOMBIER, BENT W. DELEURAN, JAMES EDWARDS, BRIAN ELMENGAARD, JACK FARR, BIRGITTA GATENHOLM, ANDREAS GOMOLL, JAMES HUI, RUNE JAKOBSEN, NATASJA LETH JØRGENSEN, MOUSTAPHA KASSEM, THOMAS
KOCH, SØREN KOLD, MICHAEL KROGSGAARD, HENRIK LAURIDSEN, DANG LE, CATHERINE LE VISAGE, MARTIN LIND, JENS VINGE NYGAARD, MORTEN LYKKE OLESEN, MICHAEL PEDERSEN, MARTIN RATHCKE, JAMES RICHARD SON, SALLY ROBERTS, JAN HENDRIK DUEDAL RÖLFING, DAISUKE SAKAI, WEI SEONG TOH, JILL URBAN, MYRON SPECTOR (2016) Position Paper: Aarhus Regenerative Orthopaedics Symposium (AROS): Regeneration in the Ageing Population. Acta Orthopaedica In Press: - AO-2016-221 - (10181)

4. DUGARD N, KUIPER J-H, PARKER J, ROBERTS S, ROBINSON E, HARRISON P, RICHARDSON JB (2016) Development of a tool to predict outcome of Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation. CARTILAGE (doi: 10.1177/1947603516650002)

5. TOH WS, BRITTBERG M, FARR J, FOLDAGER CB, GOMOLL AH, HUI JHP, RICHARDSON JB, ROBERTS S, SPECTOR M (2016) Cellular Senescence in Aging and Osteoarthritis: Implications for Cartilage Repair. Acta Orthopaedica (In Press)87: DOI:10.1080/17453674.2016.1235087

6. GARCIA J, WRIGHT K, ROBERTS S, KUIPER JH, MANGHAM C, RICHARDSON J, MENNAN C. (2016) Characterisation of synovial fluid and infrapatellar fat pad derived mesenchymal stromal cells: The influence of tissue source and inflammatory stimulus. Scientific Reports 6:24295 | DOI: 10.1038/srep24295

7. A BHATTACHARJEE, H MCCARTHY, B TINS, S ROBERTS, JH KUIPER, PE HARRISON, JB RICHARDSON. (2016) Autologous Bone Plug Supplemented With Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation In Osteochondral Defects Of The Knee. Am J Sports Medicine 44(5):1249-59. doi: 10.1177/0363546516631739

8. TURNER SA, WRIGHT K, JONES P, BALAIN B, ROBERTS S (2016) Temporal analyses of the response of intervertebral disc cells and mesenchymal stem cells to nutrient deprivation. Stem Cells Int Volume 2016 (2016), Article ID 5415901 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5415901

9. McCARTHY H, RICHARDSON JB, PARKER J, ROBERTS S. (2016) Evaluating Joint Morbidity After Chondral Harvest for Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI): a Study of ACI Treated Ankles and Hips with a Knee Chondral Harvest. Cartilage 7:7-15

10. ROBERTS S, EVANS H, WRIGHT K, VAN NIEKERK L, CATERSON B, RICHARDSON JB, KUMAR KHS, KUIPER JH (2015) ADAMTS-4 Activity In Synovial Fluid As A Biomarker Of Inflammation And Effusion. Osteoarthritis & Cartilage 23:1622-26 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2015.05.006

11. BARA J, TURNER SA, ROBERTS S, GRIFFITHS G, BENSON R, TRIVEDI JT, WRIGHT KT. (2015) High content and high throughput screening to assess the angiogenic and neurogenic actions of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. Experimental Cell Research 333(1):93-104 doi:10.1016/j.yexcr.2014.12.019

12. TURNER S, BALAIN B, CATERSON B, MORGAN C, ROBERTS S. (2014) Viability, growth kinetics and stem cell markers of single and clustered cells in human intervertebral discs: implications for regenerative therapies. Eur Spine J; 23(11):2462-2472 DOI: 10.1007/s00586-014-3500-y

13. KREGAR VELIKONJA N, URBAN J, FRÖHLICH M, NEIDLINGER-WILKE C, KLETSAS D, POTOCAR U, TURNER S, ROBERTS S. (2014) Cell sources for nucleus pulposus regeneration. Eur Spine J. Suppl 3:S364-74 PMID:24297331

14. WRIGHT KT, UCHIDA K, BARA JJ, ROBERTS S, EL MASRI W, JOHNSON WE. (2014) Spinal motor neurite outgrowth over glial scar inhibitors is enhanced by coculture with bone marrow stromal cells. Spine J. Jan 21. pii: S1529-9430(14)00059-X. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2014.01.021.

15. SIVAN SS, S. ROBERTS S, URBAN JPG, MENAGE J, BRAMHILL J, CAMPBELL D, Franklin VJ, LYDON F, MERKHER Y, MAROUDAS A, TIGHE BJ (2014) Injectable hydrogels with high fixed charge density and swelling pressure for nucleus pulposus repair: biomimetic glycosaminoglycan analogues. Acta Biomaterialia 10: 1124-1133

16. BARA JJ, MCCARTHY HE, HUMPHREY E, JOHNSON WEB, ROBERTS S (2014) Equine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells become anti-angiogenic when chondrogenically and osteogenically differentiated: Implications for bone and cartilage tissue engineering. Tissue Engineering, Part A. Tissue Eng Part A. 2014 Jan;20(1-2):147-59. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2013.0196. Epub 2013 Sep 11.

17. BRAYDA-BRUNO M, TIBILETTI M, ITO K, FAIRBANK J, GALBUSERA F, ZERBI A, ROBERTS S, WACHTEL E, MERKHER Y, SIVAN SS (2014) Advances in the diagnosis of degenerated lumbar discs and their possible clinical application European Spine Journal 23 (Suppl 3):S303-S323

18. WRIGHT KT, MENNAN C, FOX H, RICHARDSON JB, BANERJEE R, ROBERTS S (2013) Characterization of the cells in repair tissue following autologous chondrocyte implantation in mankind: a novel report of two cases. Regenerative Medicine 8:699-709.

19. McCARTHY HS and ROBERTS S (2013) A Histological Comparison of the Repair Tissue Formed When Using Either Chondrogide® or Periosteum during Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage: 21(12):2048-57.

20. MENNAN C, WRIGHT K, BHATTACHARJEE A, BALAIN B, RICHARDSON J, ROBERTS S. (2013) Isolation and Characterisation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Different Regions of the Human Umbilical Cord. BioMed Research International 2013:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/916136

21. ROBERTS S, FULLER H, CATERSON B. (2013) Uphold standards for lab reagents. Nature 496(7445): 300.

22. SIVAN SS, HAYES AJ, WACHTEL E, CATERSON B, MERKHER Y, MAROUDAS A, BROWN S, ROBERTS S. (2014) Biochemical Composition And Turnover Of The Extracellular Matrix Of The Normal And Degenerate Intervertebral Disc. European Spine Journal 23 (Suppl 3):S344-S353

23. HANIFI A, MCCARTHY H, ROBERTS S & PLESHKO N. (2013) Fourier Transform Infrared Imaging and Infrared Fiber Optic Probe Spectroscopy Identify Collagen Type in Connective Tissues. PLoS ONE 8(5): e64822. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064822

24. JOHNSON B, LEVER C, ROBERTS S, RICHARDSON J, MCCARTHY H, HARRISON P, LAING P, MAKWANA N (2013). Cell cultured chondrocyte implantation and scaffold techniques for osteochondral talar lesions. Foot Ankle Clin. 18(1):135-50.

25. MCCARTHY HS, MALDA J, RICHARDSON JB, ROBERTS S. (2013) Increased Production of Clusterin in Biopsies of Repair Tissue following Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation. Cartilage 4(3):227-238 doi:10.1177/1947603513477652

26. KHAN M, ROBERTS S, RICHARDSON JB, MCCASKIE AW. (2013) stem cells and orthopaedic surgery. Bone & Joint 360: 2:2-5 doi:0105.21.360107

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