In 2019, we invested £2.9m to establish the Bone and Joint clinical academic group at Queen Mary University of London. This brought together leading experts in the field of musculoskeletal care.
Through cutting edge research and advances in education and clinical care, the group aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people with bone and joint disorders and injuries. Barts Health has the busiest orthopaedic service in the UK and is also home to the UK’s largest orthopaedic trauma reconstruction service. Their clinical care serves a population of over 2.5m people across East London.
“One in five people in England are affected by musculoskeletal disorders or injuries. This has a huge impact on quality of life – leading to pain, reduced independence and even disability.”Professor Xavier Griffin, Chair of the Centre for Bone and Joint Health
Building up to Centre status
Over the last five years, the group has created a team of 40 staff members across a range of disciplines, from practical research to patient rehabilitation. They have developed improved education and training for health professionals whilst attracting over £17m of additional funding.
In May 2025, the group was delighted to be awarded Centre status in recognition of its outstanding contribution to musculoskeletal health and research. The new Centre for Bone and Joint Health sits within Queen Mary’s Blizard Institute, a world-class biomedical research institute that focuses on addressing the health needs of our local population, while delivering treatments on a global scale.
Dr Lisa Newington
Dr Lisa Newington is a Clinical Academic Hand Therapist based at both the Centre for Bone and Joint Health and The Royal London Hospital. She explains how Barts Charity’s support has been instrumental in supporting her work so far.
“My current role was created around 18 months ago with funding from Barts Charity, which was aimed at expanding the clinical academic workforce, particularly for allied health professionals like physiotherapists and occupational therapists, who have historically had fewer research development opportunities. This post is the first of its kind; without Barts Charity’s support, it wouldn’t have happened.”
Dr Lisa Newington
Lisa is working on a variety of projects, including:
- Finding work participation support for adults with long-term physical health conditions
- A national trial which looks at surgical and rehabilitation outcomes following flexor tendon injuries.
“The data science work we’re developing now will focus more directly on the needs of our local population. By using routinely collected data, we can identify where outcomes are poorer, spot inequalities, and design interventions that really make a difference to the people we serve here in East London.”
Read her full interview here.
“We are very intentional about making sure people in East London are included and represented in our national trials and studies.”Dr Lisa Newington, Clinical Academic Hand Therapist
Dr Rhian Milton-Cole
Dr Rhian Milton-Cole is a newly appointed Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the Centre. A physiotherapist by background, she now splits her time between research and clinical work at Whipps Cross Hospital.
Her work includes:
- Supporting the development of a rehabilitation intervention for people with fragility fractures and co-existing depressive symptoms
- Designing a longer-term research programme that focuses on people in underrepresented groups with fragility fractures.
Dr Rhian Milton-Cole
Rhian explains: “We want to build something practical and impactful that can support this overlooked group in their recovery.
My PhD focused on mental health as a form of underrepresentation, but I’m also interested in other underserved communities, such as people from different ethnic backgrounds, those with lower socioeconomic status, and those facing cultural or linguistic barriers. I’m also considering exploring pain management as part of this work, particularly in relation to how it’s experienced and treated across different communities.”
Read her full interview here.
“I’ll be looking more closely at how underrepresented groups experience rehabilitation and recovery."Dr Rhian Milton-Cole, Senior Clinical Research Fellow