Recipient of latest ORUK/Daphne Jackson Fellowship Announced

We are delighted to announce that Dr Annika Burleigh is the recipient of this year’s ORUK/Daphne Jackson Fellowship.  Dr Burleigh, who receives a three-year Fellowship, is a highly qualified academic with a PhD in rheumatology and a longstanding career in MSK research with the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (KIR), Imperial College, London, University of Aberdeen and most recently The Royal Veterinary College (RVC).

The Daphne Jackson Trust, through their Fellowships, are dedicated to supporting individuals returning to research after a career break due to illness, caring or family responsibilities. As well as financial support, the Fellowship offers retraining and mentoring which helps the recipient to develop the skills and the confidence necessary to pursue a successful and valuable career in research.Dr Burleigh initially took a career break to care for her premature son. This was further extended upon her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis, which is now stable following treatment, enabling her to resume her research career.

Her research will focus on Exploring a breakthrough drug to reverse osteoarthritis (OA) damage and restore joint health. The complex biology of OA has hampered the search for drugs and there are none that can slow or reverse the damage that OA causes to cartilage and other joint Issues. The research team at RVC has identified a drug that offers the potential to prevent or possibly repair OA damage. Dr Burleigh’s research will explore the effectiveness of this drug. The project will be hosted by The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Camden campus, in the Comparative Biosciences Department as part of the Skeletal Biology Group (SBG).

Dr Burleigh says, ‘The flexible, part-time nature of the ORUK/Daphne Jackson Fellowship will help me transition back into work while managing family responsibilities and my ongoing health condition. It will also provide me with additional skills; having recently been shortlisted for postdoctoral positions, I received feedback that many of the models, methods and techniques I used previously have been superseded, and that retraining would be helpful.’

Applications are open for this year’s ORUK/Daphne Jackson Fellowship. Once again, this will be for a three-year, part-time project specialising in musculoskeletal (MSK) research at any UK university or research establishment. The fellowship is intended for scientists, bioengineers, academic clinicians and allied health professionals who want to return to their MSK research careers after an enforced career break.

For further information, https://daphnejackson.org/fellowship/orthopaedic-research-uk/