Prof Andrew Pitsillides

Name: Prof Andy Pitsillides

Institution: Royal Veterinary College

Theme or Role: Co Investigator

Contact: apitsillides@rvc.ac.uk

Brief biography: My background is in applied biology and biochemistry. My work in joint biology led to being the first to characterise type B synovial lining cells based upon their extracellualr matrix synthesis. My research has discovered that: nitric oxide is critical in bone mechano-adaptation, with a genetic component linked to growth, that joint formation is mechanodependent and that cartilage trauma susceptibility is not always linked to its vulnerability to osteoarthritis, which can itself be transcriptionally linked to NFkB activation. I’ve disclosed distinct osteocyte/osteoblast inputs in load’s osteogenic output, and joined these to osteoporosis though spatial links to femoral neck bone turnover. Recent advances have focused on pioneering a non-invasive model of in vivo loading that allows tibial cortices and trabecular compartments to be simultaneously studied in wild type and transgenic species; the model has been extended for use in studying joint mechanics, osteoarthritis and responses to trauma. My group are also extending a UK legacy through their preservation and exploration of the spontaneous osteoarthritis in STR/Ort mice. I have published >130 original articles (h-index 36+) and am a  Board Member of the new Bloomsbury Centre for Skeletal Research, London Matrix Group, and Honorary Secretary of the British Society for Matrix Biology, Executive Editor of Cell Biochemistry and Function, Executive Committee Member of International Society for Hyaluronan Sciences and Fellow of both The Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) and the Anatomical Society (FAS). I also sit on several National and International Review panels including; Belgian Fund for Scientific research, Greek Governmental Agency, European Commission, 7th Research Framework Programme as a Recognised ERC expert and on the Panel of Experts for Arthritis Research-UK. My current research is funded by EU, BBSRC, Welcome Trust, Arthritis Research UK and The Leverhulme Trust.

As the lead on the pump priming project for automated segmentation of trabecular bone from cortical bone, outputs for this project have been outlined below with a paper publication pre-print on our method, CT scans and github code available open access.