After gaining my PhD in 1988 I was then involved in developing new molecular techniques (in situ hybridisation and in situ PCR) that could be applied to tissues, predominantly bone and cartilage to investigate gene expression and disease pathogenesis in a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Subsequently I was appointed lecturer in Molecular Pathology, senior lecturer in 1998 and ProfessorI graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Medical Sciences from Bradford University in 1985 and was awarded a PhD from the University of Manchester in 1988 for research into disc degeneration and nerve root compression as a cause of low back pain. From this work arose papers describing the absence of classical inflammation when there was intervertebral disc prolapse, but highlighting a role for ischaemia and fibrosis resulting from local blood vessel compression. After gaining my PhD in 1988 I was then involved in developing new molecular techniques (in situ hybridisation and in situ PCR) that could be applied to tissues, predominantly bone and cartilage to investigate gene expression and disease pathogenesis in a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Subsequently I was appointed lecturer in Molecular Pathology, senior lecturer in 1998 and Professor in 2007.

My past research has focused on the development of modern molecular technologies for application to the pathological study of disease mechanisms in human “hard” tissues (cartilage, IVD, bone etc.).