OLIVER BIRD
COLLABORATIVE CENTRE
NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
Oliver Bird Collaborative Centre in Newcastle
In 2003 we were one of five Centres awarded a grant from the Oliver Bird fund of the Nuffield Foundation to establish a four year research training programme for five
Oliver Bird PhD students. The Faculty of Medical Sciences in Newcastle agreed to award another full studentship and so we recruited six excellent candidates to the
Newcastle programme in October 2004.
We appointed six Oliver Bird students in 2004 . . . . . where are they now?
Helen Baldwin
arc Foundation Fellow working on the chemokine decoy receptor D6 in RA with Gerry Graham and Iain McInnes in Glasgow
Jane Falconer
Research Assistant working with John Robinson on antigen processing in Newcastle and investigating post doctoral positions in high profile fundamental immunology
laboratories in the USA
Matthew Jefferson
Post Doctoral Fellow working with Loranne Agius in the Diabetes Research Group in Newcastle investigating insulin signalling
George Kirmizidis
Working in Brussels as an EU Project Manager in musculoskeletal research
Jenny Lindop
Post Doctoral Fellow working with Mary Goldring’s group in New York focussing on cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis
Amy Wilson
arc Foundation Fellow studying the role of a vascular marker on the initiation and persistence of rheumatoid arthritis working with Chris Buckley in Birmingham
Research Themes
The Oliver Bird Collaborative Centre in Newcastle University consists of a number of closely interrelated laboratories with strong multidisciplinary basic science that
underpins the translation of mechanistic studies into the clinical arena. Two main programmes of work investigate the prevention and treatment of joint inflammation
and damage in the rheumatic diseases. The programmes are:
1: Mechanisms of joint remodelling and repair.
This programme aims to discover the mechanisms of cartilage and bone breakdown and repair in order to develop
new therapies that prevent destruction in arthritis. It poses a series of questions that relate to cellular,
biochemical and genetic approaches that lead to specific hypotheses.
2: Autoimmunity – dissecting mechanisms and developing interventions.
Laboratory models show that it is possible to ‘switch off’ autoimmune diseases by targeting specific molecules on
T-cells or antigen-presenting cells using antibodies or receptor proteins. We study basic mechanisms and translate
this research to humans to identify new therapeutic targets and to design novel immunomodulators to treat
patients in phase I/II studies.
The Newcastle University Musculoskeletal Research Group is located in the Medical School in the Institute of
Cellular Medicine. Members collaborate with individuals from all Institutes and strong links are maintained with
clinicians and patient cohorts.
OLIVER BIRD STUDENTS IN NEWCASTLE 2008-2012
OLIVER BIRD STUDENTS IN NEWCASTLE 2009-2013
Christopher Macdonald, Catherine Syddall, Steven Woods
Andrew Butcher, Nicola Maney, David Wilkinson
NEWCASTLE STAFF
ACADEMIC: Dr MA Birch, Dr F Birrell, Prof TE Cawston, Prof HE Foster, Dr RM Francis, Dr CMU Hilkens, Prof JD
Isaacs, Dr D Lilic, Prof AW McCaskie, Dr F Ng, Prof JH Robinson, Prof AD Rowan, Prof J van Laar, Dr DA Young
CLINICAL NHS: Dr P Cook, Dr M Friswell, Dr B Griffiths, Dr L Kay, Dr P Peterson, Dr P Platt, Dr D Walker