Musculoskeletal Biology research at the RVC explores the way in which an organism's structure is adapted to the way in which it functions; taking account environment and lifestyle.

This area of research is key to understanding how animals function, and the pathophysiological basis of degenerative diseases of ageing and inherited or acquired diseases. The most marked differences between animals relate to their MSK systems.

Our interdisciplinary group of researchers brings together life scientists, clinical experts and biological scientists who focus on learning how to learn and measure more from animals and how to apply more sophisticated mathematical techniques to analyse data.  We build models to predict how systems function at all levels, (including the gene and molecular level) in health and disease and in response to well defined perturbations.

The group's aims are:

• To define and analyse the mechanical environment of the musculoskeletal system and better understand the mechanisms regulating development, mechanical responsiveness, maintenance and repair of bones, joints and tendons
• To define the key principles and physical laws governing and constraining locomotor economy and performance through comparative analysis of the locomotor system
• To define the pathophysiology of neuromuscular, bone, joint and tendon dysfunction, developing new therapies for humans and animals

The MSK group includes a number of subgroups:

• The Structure and Motion Laboratory
• The Skeletal Biology Group
• The Tendon Biology Laboratory
• The Neuromuscular Laboratory
• Comparative Neuromuscular Diseases Laboratory
• The Neuropathic Pain Laboratory