Sharon Owen

Biography

Dr Sharon Owen (née Brown) returned to education after starting a family and gained a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Liverpool. In 1997, she began a PhD at the Charles Salt Centre, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH), under the supervision of Dr Christopher Sharp, investigating the biomechanical and biochemical properties of osteoarthritic bone.

Sharon returned to RJAH in 2004 to investigate cellular stress responses in the intervertebral disc, contributing to research recognised by the 2010 GRAMMER European Spine Journal Award. She subsequently worked on intervertebral disc research with Professor Sally Roberts and investigated blood biomarkers for predicting neurological outcomes following spinal cord injury with Professor Karina Wright. In 2014, Sharon was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to visit New Zealand to investigate imaging of the vertebral endplate in human degenerate spines.

Biomarker discovery and the assessment of disease severity and treatment response have since become central themes in Sharon’s research. Working with Professor Heidi Fuller on a project funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital and Sparks, she investigated differences in cellular protein profiles across clinical types of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Her research also includes analysing protein changes following SMA treatment and investigating responses to polyacrylamide hydrogel injections for osteoarthritis with Professors Martyn Snow and Karina Wright.

Alongside her research, Sharon provides technical support to the Oswestry Keele Orthopaedic Research Group (OsKOR), funded by the NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre.