Musculoskeletal

Leadership Team:

• Prof. Lyn March AM (Rheumatologist Arabanoo Precinct)
• Dr Davinder Grewal-Singh (Paediatric Rheumatologist, Sydney Children’s Network)
• Dr Premarani Sinnathurai (Rheumatologist Arabanoo Precinct)
• A/Prof. Meilang Xue ( Head of Sutton Rheumatism Research Laboratory, Kolling and A3BC Headquarters)
• A/Prof. Sean O’Neill (Rheumatologist Arabanoo Precinct)
• A/Prof. Peter Youssef (Rheumatologist Patyegarang Precinct)
• Dr Bethan Richards (Rheumatologist Patyegarang Precinct)
• Prof. Mandana Nikpour (Director Sydney MSK, Rheumatologist Patyegarang Precinct)

Objectives:

Our overarching aim is provide optimal care and outcomes for children and adults living with inflammatory and autoimmune conditions by identifying early predictors of disease severity, biomarkers for response to treatments and prediction algorithms for drug free disease remission through multi-omic analyses of patient data and biospecimen collection embedded in routine care.
This network is built around A3BC – the Australian Arthritis and Autoimmune conditions Biobank Collaborative - that has its lead site at Kolling Institute as an integral part of Kolling MSK Priority Research Area and Sydney University Faculty of Medicine and Health MSK Flagship Data and Discovery Pillar. Through A3BC this CAG currently collaborates across the Sydney Health Partners (NSLHD, SLHD, WSLHD), the NSW State Wide Biobank and across other recognised Health Research Translation Centres Maridulu Budyari Gumal (SPHERE) and UQ, ANU, UNSW, Melbourne Uni, Monash Uni, Flinders Uni, South Australian Uni, UWA. A3BC was founded through philanthropy, has ongoing infrastructure funding from philanthropy, the NSW Health OHMR and underpins the 3 successful category one grants, along with two UQ collaborations that harness the A3BC infrastructure and output MRFF NINA for federated learning data linkage model and MRFF for Lifestyle Interventions to Reset Early RA.

Projects:

NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence: Better Outcomes for Inflammatory Arthritis

• Risk factor analysis and Lifestyle interventions in pre-RA
• Evaluating predictors of therapy response in early inflammatory undifferentiated arthritis, RA, PsA, AS
• Australian Juvenile Arthritis Registry
• A3BC and ARAD data-linkage analyses
  • Predicting inflammatory arthritis outcomes using integrated models of diverse data towards personalised medicine (PhD – Tom Lynch)
  • Medication use and management of reproductive-aged women with rheumatic disease (PhD – Dr Abhishikta Dey)
  • Improving Outcomes in Juvenile-onset Rheumatic Disease (PhD – Dr Mariya Hamid)
• Predictors of response in Synovial Tissue analysis
• Activated Protein-C as potential treatment target in inflammatory and autoimmune disease – RA, PsA and SLE
• Impact of microbiome in response to treatment and disease course
• Shared Decision Making and Patient Outcomes

MRFF Effective Use of Existing Medicines

• PROSPECT study - Randomised Biologic Tapering Trial in adults with Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis.
• Multi-omic analyses and predictor algorithms
• SWAT Shared Decision Making analysis (MPhil – Dr Frank Huang)

 

MRFF Better Outcomes for Chronic MSK conditions in Childhood and Adolescents – A3BC for Kids

CHAMPION study - Randomised Biologic Tapering Trial in children and young adults with Juvenile Arthritis.

AJAR -registry

A3BC – biospecimen sub-study

CAG members are currently researching rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, inflammatory myositis, vasculitis, giant cell arteritis, and paediatric conditions including juvenile idiopathic arthritis, uveitis, dermatomyositis, lupus, Kawasaki’s disease

More information can be found on our A3BC website – a3bc.org.au

Patients, families and researchers interested in collaborating in any of these research projects or others that could harness our combined clinical, patient report, biospecimens and PBS, MBS data-linkage should contact us at info@a3bc.org.au

 

Leadership Team:

• Prof. David Hunter (Flagship Co-Director, Rheumatologist, RNSH)
• Prof. Andreas Zankl (Clinical Geneticist, Children’s Hospital Westmead)
• Dr Jillian Eyles (Post-doctoral physiotherapist)

Objectives:

This Network is formed around NSW Health Leading Better Value Care initiatives and the SHP-funded MESSAGE implementation study. It will undertake pilot work for the multi-centre PARTNER trial that seeks to optimise non-surgical management of arthritis as well as supporting transfer of young people with skeletal dysplasia from CHW to adult services

Projects:

• Osteoarthritis Trials: SCUlpTOR, ATLAS, CQUC398, MaRVEL, TOPS, Walk with Ease - Find out more
• Clinical Outcomes of OA Management Programs - Find out more
• Skeletal Dysplasia Trials - Find out more
• OAChangeMap: Developing and evaluating strategies to address determinants and gaps in the implementation of the Osteoarthritis Chronic Care Program.
• ATLAS study: Arthritis Training Learning and Upskilling- an eLearning program for health professionals

Leadership Team:

• Prof. Anne Tiedemann (Exercise scientist, NHMRC grant CIA)
• A/Prof. Leanne Hassett (Physiotherapist, MRFF grant CIA)
• Prof. Paulo Ferreira

Objectives:

This Network is built around multiple collaborative implementation projects that focus on supporting pathways to community exercise from health services with SHP (PROPOSE study led by Prof Sherrington), MRFF (BEHAVIOUR study led by Dr Hassett) and NHMRC CRE funds.

Projects:

• BEHAVIOUR – Find out more
• PROMOTE-PA: Supporting health professionals to promote physical activity in clinical practice – Find out more
• Get Back to Healthy - Find out more

Leadership Team:

• Dr Gustavo Machado (Physiotherapist, NHMRC ECF, HCF Grant CIA)
• Prof. Chris Maher (Flagship Co-director)
• Dr Bethan Richards (Rheumatologist, RPAH)
• A/Prof. Michael Dinh (Emergency Physician, RPAH)
• Prof. Steve Kamper (Physiotherapist, NHMRC Investigator grant holder, Nepean BM LHD)

Objectives:

This network is built around the new model of care evaluated in the SHaPED trial and new implementation work on avoiding hospital admission in partnership with RPA Virtual Hospital.

Projects:

• RESHAP-ED: a randomised trial testing primary-contact physiotherapy in emergency departments. Funded by MRFF.
• BACK@HOME: an implementation study of a virtual hospital model of care for low back pain. Funded by HCF Research Foundation.
• DATABACK: a health-record data linkage study of pre(hospital) and primary care of low back pain. Funded by The University of Sydney.
• SHaPED: a stepped wedge trial to reduce low-value care of low back pain in emergency departments. Funded by Sydney Health Partners and NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation.
• LINK-ED: a health-record data linkage study that aims to develop a single platform to integrate prehospital and hospital datasets on low back pain.

Leadership Team:

• A/Prof. Christina Abdelshaheed (Pharmacist, NHMRC grant CIA)
• Prof. Andrew McLachlan (Dean of Pharmacy)
• Prof. Chris Lin (NHMRC Investigator Grant holder)
• A/Prof. Danijela Gnjidic (NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellow)

Objectives:

This network is built around opioid de-prescribing work involving a new NHMRC-funded trial and guideline implementation as well as Prof Lin’s NHMRC-funded OASIS trial (Oral Steroids for Sciatica).

Projects:

• COMFORT: Clinical Observation Management and Function Of Low Back Pain Relief Therapies - Aims to support general practitioners to provide opioid stewardship for patients with low back pain. -  Find out more
• The Pain Medicines Roadmap: A global initiative that brings together the evidence regarding the efficacy and harms of opioids, gabapentinoids, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, anaesthetics, glucocorticoids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol and complementary alternative medicines for the treatment of cancer and non-cancer pain in people of all ages.

Leadership Team:

• Prof. Cathie Sherrington (CAG Chair)
• Prof. Vasi Naganathan (Geriatrician, Concord Hospital)
• A/Prof. Mark Latt (Geriatrician, RPA)
• Dr Andrew Hallahan (Executive Director Medical Services, Clinical Governance and Risk, SLHD)

Objectives:

This network builds on previous large-scale health service trials, NSW Health Leading Better Value Care initiatives and the CRE led by Prof Sherrington.

Projects:

• PROTECT Falls: Supporting staff to prevent falls in hospitals - Find out more

Leadership Team:

• Prof. Ian Cameron (Rehabilitation Physician, Hornsby Hospital)
• Prof. Sue Kurrle (Geriatrician, Hornsby Hospital)
• Prof. Cathie Sherrington
• Prof. Vasi Naganathan

Objectives:

Ths Network is based around a) an NHMRC-funded implementation study (FORTRESS) rolling out the interdisciplinary intervention found to reduce frailty and disability in the team’s previous Frailty Intervention Trial and b) the TOP-UP trial of physiotherapy delivered by telehealth in residential aged care facilities.

Projects:

• FORTRESS: Frailty in Older people: Rehabilitation, Treatment, Research Examining Separate Settings investigates frailty intervention after discharge.
• FORTRESS Plus: This study provides an enhanced intervention after discharge in comparison with the previous study.
• TOP-UP: The Aged Care facilities study (TOP-UP) investigating telehealth for exercise. - Find out more

Leadership Team:

• Prof. Manuela Ferreira (NHMRC grant CIA)
• Prof. Ian Harris (Orthopaedic surgeon, SWSLHD, SLHD)
• Prof. Chris Maher

Objectives:

This Network builds on the world leading NHMRC-funded surgical research undertaken by the team and links with CREs in Right Care, Back Pain and Musculoskeletal Trials.

Projects:

• SUcceSS: The “Surgery for Spinal Stenosis” study is the world’s first randomised, placebo-controlled study of decompression surgery for central lumbar canal stenosis.  Find out more
• METEOR2: The “Meteor2: Meniscal Allograft Surgery or Optimised Rehabilitation” study is an international study across 4 countries including the UK, Belgium, Canada, and Australia to determine whether meniscal transplant surgery is better or worse than an optimised rehabilitation program. - Find out more