News for researchers

Our Research Advisory Groups interact with the charity around research prioritisation and investment.  They have a UK-wide remit. They bring together people with lived arthritis experience, scientists, clinical and allied health professional researchers and practitioners and trainees.  They provide insight on areas of unmet need for research investment across discovery science, translational research, clinical research and applied research in disease management and health care services. Following the publication of our Research Strategy 2022-2026, our Research Advisory Groups have an integral role in helping deliver our strategic goals.  Find out more about these groups.

We are seeking to appoint to a number of vacancies across the Groups – information on how to apply can be found at the end of this call for applications.

Adult Inflammatory Arthritis Research Advisory Group

The Adult Inflammatory Arthritis Research Advisory Group works to improve the quality and impact of research which seeks to develop our understanding and management of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis.

We are seeking to appoint a Lead and members of the Adult Inflammatory Arthritis Research Advisory Group to develop activities across discovery science, clinical and applied research. We are seeking experience in the areas below.

• Group Lead.

We are seeking to appoint an academic with a track record in collaborative research leadership, to lead the Adult Inflammatory Arthritis Research Advisory Group. The post is associated with an appropriate monetary allowance, administrative support and travel allowance.

Group Lead interviews are planned for Monday 18th March pm, Tuesday 19^th March pm.  Deadline for applications is 4pm Monday March 4^th.

• Academic Clinician – Rheumatologist.
• Academic Clinician – Allied Health Professional X2 (across Clinical Nurse Specialist &/or Podiatrist &/or Pharmacist &/or Physiotherapist &/or Psychologist).
• Clinician – Rheumatologist.
• Clinician – Allied Health Professional (across Clinical Nurse Specialist &/or Podiatrist &/or Pharmacist &/or Physiotherapist  &/or Psychologist).
• Economic Evaluation.
• Trainee Scientist.

Group member applications are being managed on a rolling basis, no application deadlines currently apply.

Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Research Advisory Group

The Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Research Advisory Group works to improve the quality and impact of research which seeks to develop our understanding and management of conditions including antiphospholipid syndrome, scleroderma (systemic sclerosis), Sjogren’s syndrome, Bechet’s syndrome, undifferentiated connective tissue disease.

We are seeking to appoint a Lead and members of our Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Research Advisory Group to develop activities across discovery science, clinical and applied research. We are seeking experience in the areas below.

• Group Lead.

We are seeking to appoint an academic with a track record in collaborative research leadership, to lead the Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Research Advisory Group

Group Lead interviews are planned for Monday 18th March pm, Tuesday 19^th March pm. Deadline for applications is 4pm Monday March 4^th.

• Scientific Researcher.
• Academic Clinician - Allied Health Professional.
• Clinician - Rheumatologist - Health Service Delivery
• Clinician - Allied Health Professional.

Group member applications are being managed on a rolling basis, no application deadlines currently apply.

Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Advisory Group

The Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Advisory Group works to improve the quality and impact of research which seeks to develop our understanding and management of conditions including osteoarthritis, crystal diseases (such as gout), Regional and widespread musculoskeletal pain (e.g. back pain, shoulder pain and tendinopathy; fibromyalgia), metabolic bone disorders (e.g. osteoporosis and rare diseases), musculoskeletal injuries caused by acute traumatic events.

We are seeking to appoint one new member of our Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Advisory Group to develop activities across discovery science, clinical and applied research. We are seeking experience in the areas below.

• Discovery science, genetics.

Group member applications are being managed on a rolling basis, no application deadlines currently apply.

Applying For Posts

All posts are available for a three-year term. Roles and responsibilities, and terms of reference are available upon request.

Applicants should submit a one-page CV giving details of current and relevant previous posts and roles, accompanied by a statement exemplifying relevant experiences and expertise and briefly outlining how the applicant will develop the work of the Group (600-800 word maximum).

Applications should be submitted to Glen Neal at g.neal@versusarthritis.org. 

If you have any queries please contact Dr Sarah Rudkin, Head of Research Strategy s.rudkin@versusarthritis.org.

We’re offering between 100K and £1.2M for ambitious, cutting-edge projects up to 5 years and plan to invest around £5 million.

We invite applications for research funding focussed on two of the research priority areas from Our Better Lives Today, Better Lives Tomorrow Research Strategy 2022-2026:

• Early detection & prevention - spotting the biological signatures of arthritis early to maximise the opportunities for timely intervention and preventing it from getting worse
• Targeted treatments - taking the guesswork out of treatment by increasing effective, reliable and timely drug and non-drug solutions to reduce, manage or cure disease

This call is open to applicants at any stage of their career, welcoming a wide range of disciplines and approaches.

Find out more about this opportunity

Vacancy title: Fellowship Expert Committee Members

Hours: Twice yearly meetings with allowance for preparation and reading of materials, and occasional additional virtual meetings.

Salary: Unremunerated. Versus Arthritis will pay for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses in line with the Charity’s expense policy.

Contract type: 3-years

Download the candidate brief

About the role

Versus Arthritis operates a Fellowship Expert Committee (FEC) to assist the charity in planning, developing and undertaking activities to support fellowship awards. The role of Fellowship Expert Committee is to input expertise and insight and provide strategic advice to help the charity plan and prioritise new fellowship activities, including our financial investments and influencing activities.

We are seeking clinical academic members for the committee who will contribute actively in the role, giving clear advice and challenge to the organisation, contributing to strategic and policy discussions, defining goals and setting targets and evaluating performance against the agreed targets. Members of the committee will input expertise and insight for their respective areas and provide strategic advice to help the charity plan and prioritise new fellowship activities, including our financial investments and influencing activities. Members will also review and discuss applications to our Bridging Fellowship scheme. Members will also have opportunity to take the role of Chair or Vice Chair of Versus Arthritis Funding Review Panels to help the charity in making decisions for research funding activities.

Key requirements

To be successful in the role, you will be committed to Versus Arthritis values as well as having:

• Expertise, knowledge of and enthusiasm for academic career development.
• Diplomacy and great people skills with the ability to work closely with and get the best from members of the Fellowship Review Funding Panels and Charity staff.
• Highly developed leadership and facilitation skills with the ability to create an environment that encourages input and maximises the contributions of all.
• Strategic level experience, preferably gained at committee level.

Key skills

In this recruitment round, we are specifically looking for orthopaedic surgeons.

To apply please submit:

1. A comprehensive CV.
2. A supporting statement summarising your skills and experience (1,000 words maximum).

Email your completed application to Glen Neal, Awards and Procurement Governance Officer, awards@versusarthritis.org 

We are seeking clinical and academic members for the Progress Review Committee who will advise the charity on the progress of studies recruiting human participants and provide feedback to those award holders within the Versus Arthritis research portfolio. Members will be expected to input expertise and insight for their respective areas and consider bi-annual progress reports from award holders.

We aim to appoint 3 members and would particularly welcome applications from individuals with the following:

• Experience of surgical studies
• Expertise of connective tissue diseases/vasculitis
• An allied health professional background

For further information on these positions and how to apply please see the briefing document (Word, 647.1 KB).

Closing date for applications now extended: Midday on Tuesday 11 April, 2023.

We're excited to announce two new research calls open for applications now:

1. Priorities 2023: Accelerating Diagnosis and Treatment
2. Fatigue evidence review 2023

Our 'Priorities 2023: Accelerating Diagnosis and Treatment' call focusses on early detection and prevention, and targeted treatments. Grants of up to £800,000 for projects of up to five years can be applied for. We plan to invest around £4 million in cutting-edge research in these areas.

For people with arthritis, fatigue is overlooked, under-prioritised, and not understood. That’s why we’re partnering with The Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research for our 'Fatigue evidence review 2023' call, to fund a comprehensive scoping review on the ways of measuring, assessing, and treating chronic fatigue.

Find out more about these opportunities.

Following the launch of our new Research Strategy, we are pleased to share details of our first partnership initiative under the aegis of this strategy that will take forward one of the four priority areas – Living Well.

We have proactively developed our relationship with the Nuffield Foundation to partner for the next Oliver Bird Fund (OBF) initiative. The broad goal of the Fund is to improve the lives of those living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions and the new joint call will focus on biopsychosocial approaches to generate new knowledge to support policy- and practice-led improvements for people with musculoskeletal conditions. Applications focused on the following areas will be considered; participation in education, training work; economic security; supporting mental health; and socio-economic inequalities that increase the risk of poorer outcomes for people with MSK.

Interdisciplinary approaches, as well as applicants from wider fields as well as those with musculoskeletal expertise, are particularly welcome to apply.

Applicants must submit an outline proposal by 14 March 2022. Short-listed applications will then be invited to submit full applications during July 2022.

For full information on how to apply for this funding, please see the Oliver Bird Fund website.

For more information, please contact awards@versusarthritis.org.

The Orthopaedic Research Society is the world’s largest professional organisation dedicated to musculoskeletal research, and the Fellowship Award is the most prestigious international award that the society can bestow upon it’s members. Those who are selected for this honour have demonstrated exemplary service and leadership, substantial achievement, expert knowledge, and significant contributions to the society and the field of musculoskeletal research.

We are proud to have supported Mark throughout his career. He began his career with a PhD funded through one of our Clinical Research Fellowship awards, and we have subsequently supported several of his research projects over the years. Mark has also been a member of both our research sub-committee, and the previously existing metabolic bone clinical studies group.

He commented, “I am honoured and humbled to receive this award from my research peers. This award reflects all the hard work done over many years by the bone and joint research team at the University of Sheffield, supported in no small part by Versus Arthritis and our fantastic patients! Without their support, we would not have been able to make our strides forward in understanding of arthritis and find better ways of improving the lives of patients.”

Versus Arthritis funding contributed to one of Mark’s key research achievements, the development of the JointCalc tool, which allows patients and GPs to predict outcomes of joint replacement surgery, and is now widely used across the world. He was involved with our ground-breaking arcOGEN study, which provided a significant leap forward in understanding of the genetic factors known to cause osteoarthritis. He also led research that we funded looking to understand why some joint replacements fail. This work improved understanding in this area and identified new genetic risk factors for loosening of joint replacements.

Please do get in touch and let us know if you or any of your colleagues have recently won an award as we love to shout about these. You can contact us at researchliaison@versusarthritis.org.