A Keele professor will co-lead a prestigious new research team set up to tackle the pressing challenges facing people living with arthritis, alongside colleagues from Oxford, Manchester, Nottingham and Aberdeen universities.

Professor Christian Mallen, Executive Dean in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Keele, is co-leading a new research consortium funded by a new £3m award from charity Versus Arthritis.

The charity has brought together world-leading experts from five UK universities together in the new consortium, to accelerate clinical epidemiology research which will help answer pressing questions from those living with arthritis.

The new research consortium is part of the charity’s drive to harness ‘team science’ to better understand the causes and risk factors for arthritis and improve treatment options. Epidemiology – the study of how diseases occur in different people and why - is critical to designing better and targeted interventions using data.

The consortium, made up of experts from the Universities of Keele, Manchester, Oxford, Nottingham and Aberdeen, aims to close five gaps in our understanding of the debilitating disease and related conditions, and will be co-led by Professor Mallen alongside Professor Kimme Hyrich, consultant rheumatologist and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Manchester.

The researchers will consider issues like menopause in relation to musculoskeletal health, inequalities in access to care, risks of long-term pain medications and, determining the optimum levels of monitoring for those receiving immune drugs. The researchers will also aim to identify those at higher risk of chronic pain sooner, given painful musculoskeletal conditions often begin in childhood. This holds the potential to explore ways to prevent or reduce persistent pain.

Professor Mallen, a leading researcher who trained as a GP, said the inclusion of primary care spoke volumes of the role GPs play in achieving better outcomes for those living with musculoskeletal conditions.

"The new Versus Arthritis Research Consortium is an exciting new programme that will have a major impact on the lives of people living with painful conditions by uniting world-leading clinicians, academics, patients and policy makers.

"It is a privilege to co-lead the consortium with Professor Hyrich and having strong representation from Keele University highlights the importance of primary care in improving outcomes for people living with arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal pain."

Lucy Donaldson, Director of Research at Versus Arthritis, said there are many remaining unmet needs around arthritis, compounded by significant gaps in understanding.

She said: "The Versus Arthritis Research Consortium: Musculoskeletal Epidemiology - Better lives, Safer journey is a major step forward in tackling the everyday realities faced by people living with arthritis and other painful musculoskeletal conditions.

"Our research consortia will bring together leading researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience from across the UK in a team science approach. Their aim - to find real, practical solutions to the problems faced by people with arthritis.

"Keele University brings a strong track record and international reputation for excellence in primary care and epidemiological research to the Versus Arthritis Research Consortium. Many of the Keele researchers involved in this consortium have high-level expertise in primary care and are based in the Keele Primary Care Centre.

"Keele also has a strong reputation for co-creating high quality research with people with lived experience, with a dedicated patient and public involvement, and engagement (PPIE) team housed within its Impact Accelerator Unit. We are confident that the expertise in Keele will make a vital contribution to driving meaningful change across the consortium."

Professor Kimme Hyrich from the University of Manchester added: “This award represents an exciting step-change in the way musculoskeletal epidemiology research is conducted in the UK, breaking down traditional research siloes and uniting minds, data and expertise to generate the evidence needed to support people living with arthritis and other painful musculoskeletal conditions.

"It is a real privilege to be able to lead this multidisciplinary team. Placing people with lived experience at the core of our consortium and working closely with implementation scientists from the outset will ensure that our outputs are robust and meaningful and delivered to the right audience in the most appropriate way."

The consortium will employ cutting edge analysis techniques on existing datasets to fill the identified gaps in our knowledge of arthritis and MSK conditions. Its findings will help to arm those living with arthritis to have informed conversations with clinicians about their care. It will also seek to improve clinical practice and policy around diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

The results will be shared through a broad range of partners including government, the NHS, clinicians and patient networks.

More than 20 million people, of all ages, in the UK have problems with their joints, bones and muscles, which cause pain and impact all aspects of life including work and school.

The Versus Arthritis Research Consortium: Musculoskeletal Epidemiology - Better lives, Safer journey is the first of six consortia to be announced by Versus Arthritis which is awarding £18 million of funding to this initiative over the next three years.