Manchester biologist gets prestigious lifetime award

Professor Judith Hoyland, Vice-Dean and  Head of  School of Biological Sciences at The University of Manchester has been given a Lifetime Research Achievement Award by the Philadelphia Spine Research Society.

The former chair of the Spine Section for  the American Orthopaedic Research Society started her research career in in Manchester in 1985, received the award for her research in on molecular mechanisms underlying disc generation.

She has published over 190 papers  in the area of musculoskeletal tissue cell and molecular biology and pathology.

She has internationally renowned expertise in the cell biology of musculoskeletal tissues, particularly intervertebral disc  and its degeneration and more recently tissue engineering and cell-based regeneration of the  intervertebral disc .

The PSRS Lifetime Research Achievement Award was created in 2013 to honour an investigator who has established him or herself with sustained and long-lasting contributions in the area of spine research.

The award is given biennially when at the Orthopaedic research society PSRS International Research Symposium.

Past recipients include  Professor Irving Shapiro, the Anthony and Gertrude DePalma Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Orthopaedic Research at Thomas Jefferson University, Professor Peter Roughley, Shriners Hospital for Children, Montreal, Jill Urban, PhD, Senior Research fellow Emeritus in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics Oxford University and Professor Michele Battie, University of Alberta.

The Lifetime Achievement Award carries an honorarium of $1,000 and a commemorative plaque. The formal presentation of the award will take place during the PSRS 6th International Spine Research Symposium, November 6-10, in, Pennsylvania.

Professor Hoyland said: “I am truly honoured to receive this prestigious award from the ORS PSRS and thank those who nominated me. I am very grateful for the recognition I have received for my research work  into the biology of the intervertebral disc and the pathogenesis of disc degeneration - a major cause of low back pain.

“Of course, it isn’t just me that has achieved this but the team of researchers I have worked with and the infrastructure provided at The University of Manchester that has enabled me to progress research in this area over the last 20 or so years  to  make a  substantial impact in the field and thus I would like to say a  huge thank you to all those I have worked with.”