Specialists in bone and joint disorders at the University of Glasgow have been awarded more than £500,000, creating an outstanding opportunity for five highly talented young students to receive advanced scientific training in rheumatic disease research.

Glasgow is one of just five UK centres to receive this prestigious award from the Oliver Bird rheumatism programme, which supports research into the prevention and treatment of rheumatism. The money will enable Professor Iain McInnes, consultant rheumatologist at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, to implement a comprehensive four-year training programme that will give his students wide-ranging experience in tissue analysis and state-of-the-art imaging technology, as well as the care of patients with arthritis.

"The University of Glasgow has already invested heavily in the study of rheumatic diseases," said Professor McInnes. "The Oliver Bird rheumatism programme is an ideal opportunity to develop this further with the addition of five students who will apply the formidable scientific technologies now available to the challenges posed by chronic inflammatory arthritis." The students will study with scientists leading the field in inflammation research based in Glasgow: Professors Eddy Liew, Gerry Graham, Bill Ferrell and Paul Garside, and Drs Rob Nibbs, Maggie Harnett and Jim Brewer.

The research programme for the students will focus on understanding the inflammatory processes that lead to arthritis and how the white blood cells that enter the joint become activated and destroy bone and cartilage. By doing so, it is possible to alter the behaviour of cells and, therefore, the progression of the disease. Understanding these processes will lead to better drug treatment with fewer side effects.

Students will learn to exploit new technology at the university that allows them to track cells through their lifespan. They can watch the inflammation happen under the microscope and see cells change in response to a particular stimulus. This means that much more detailed information about the fundamental processes leading to joint destruction can be learned than has been possible in the past.

In the UK today, rheumatic disorders, which cover over 200 different diseases, are extremely common and affect over eight million people of all ages and the numbers are rising each year. Over three million adults are physically disabled and one in every thousand children suffers from arthritis. At a personal level, arthritis is devastating, particularly for young people in their 20s and 30s. Around 50% of people of working age who are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis cannot work after five years due to chronic pain and fatigue, depriving them of their independence and self-esteem.

An essential part of the Oliver Bird rheumatism programme, therefore, is for the students to spend time with patients. "This will be the first time that patients will regularly see the scientists being trained to cure their disease," said Professor McInnes. "Mostly our patients enjoy meeting the researchers and it increases their enthusiasm to contribute to the research projects. And this is our chance to infect young scientists with the passion we have for treating our patients."

The newly formed Oliver Bird Collaborative Centre will give students the chance to work at the cutting edge of science and at the same time gain first hand exposure to the problems faced by people living with severe disabilities. "We are advancing quickly," concluded Professor McInnes. "It's a great time to be a rheumatologist."

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

The Oliver Bird Rheumatism Programme is funded by the Oliver Bird Fund. The Fund, for research into the prevention and cure of rheumatism, was established in 1945 by the late Captain Oliver Bird who suffered from osteoarthritis and is administered by the Nuffield Foundation. ?3,000,000 allocated to the Oliver Bird Collaborative Centres over 5 years is by far the largest commitment ever made by the Oliver Bird Fund. Nuffield Foundation

The five centres to receive the award are: the Universities of Newcastle, Aberdeen, Glasgow, University College London, and King?s College London.

For further information contact Judith or Kate at the University Press Office Tel: 0141 330 3535 or Elaine Snell, Snell Communications Ltd, Medicine, Science and Health Tel: 020 7738 0424

First published: 15 October 2003