Skip to main content

Research and teaching

The Trust has a vibrant research portfolio of clinical trials, observational studies and laboratory studies including studies exploring:

  • new approaches to improve physiotherapy rehabilitation
  • advanced therapies to regenerate diseased bone tissue
  • new prosthetic devices to restore normal joint function
  • pharmaceutical treatments which aim to reduce the need for invasive surgery and speed up recovery.

Our research programmes are led by our own consultants, physiotherapists and nurses often working in close collaboration with other orthopaedic research teams across the UK and around the world. We also work closely with world-leading industry partners to ensure that our patients have access to the very latest innovations in orthopaedic care.

Amazing Facilities

Click the button to check out our facilities and to view a 360° virtual tour

Facilites

Getting involved in research

If you are eligible to take part in one of our active studies we will contact you either prior to your visit or whilst you’re here at the hospital attending a routine appointment. If there is a study which you healthcare team feels may be suitable to you, a member of the research team will speak to you to assess your eligibility and find out if you would like to take part.

Each study has strict eligibility criteria which patients must meet before they can take part. This is to protect the patients’ health and safety and means that not every patient is able to take part in our studies. However, we are always expanding our portfolio so that we can offer as many patients the chance to be involved as possible.

If you would like to find out about any studies which may be suitable for you, or you are aware of a relevant study and would like to find out about how to take part, please discuss this with your healthcare team either during your appointment or via telephone or email. Alternatively you can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who can advise about our current study portfolio. For more information on getting involved in research across the country please visit: the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) website.

If you have previously been involved in research then we would love to hear from you as we always welcome feedback to help us provide the best service possible to our patients. You can let us know your thoughts by completing the online feedback from via the following link: PRES (myresearchexperience.com).

As always, patient safety and confidentiality is our number one priority and all studies must have approvals in place to prove they are ethical and safe for patients to take part in and that patient’s involvement and details will be kept confidential at all times.

Research tissue bank

Our research tissue bank was established over twenty years ago and contains the world’s largest archive of frozen bone tumour samples. This unique research resource currently holds over 23,000 bone and muscle samples, including all orthopaedic malignancies as well as other benign and non-tumour tissue types. All samples are held within our secure and fully licenced facility at -80ﹾC with continual temperature monitoring.

The ROH Research Tissue Banks’ ethical approval and HTA Licence permits the release of anonymised materials and corresponding clinical data for approved research programmes. Prospectively collected blood and tissue samples, which are collected and processed to meet specific study requirements, can also be released by the Research tissue Bank with appropriate patient consent.

How to access material from the Research Tissue Bank
We recommend an early discussion with our research tissue bank Manager to discuss the requirements of your study and its eligibility to access RTB tissues under the tissue banks current ethical approvals and HTA licence. Once eligibility is confirmed our Tissue Bank Manager will support you in providing an indicative costing and in applying for permission to access the required material via our Independent Scientific Advisory Panel who will undertake the Tissue Access Review in accordance with our ethical approvals and licence.
For more information on how to access materials from the Research Tissue Bank, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Research studies

Single cell sRNA-mRNA co-seq

Cancer can hijack a cell’s existing regulatory circuitry and transform healthy cells into deadly malignancies. A new hot topic is the hypothesis that cancer does more than just a seize control of the cell’s operations - cancer is an engineer that can construct entirely new disease promoting networks out of raw materials readily available in the cell. One example would be a cancer cell’s capability to edit pre-existing RNAs to produce novel functional RNAs. Because these changes are unique to metastatic cells, finding a way to identify and target these changes with therapy means that healthy cells in the body would not be affected by cancer treatment. This current project is aiming to survey and detect novel functional RNAs in single metastatic primary bone cancer cells.

KANOA-2 - A single-arm, open label, phase 3 trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of intra-articular injections of MTX-071 in adult patients with painful osteoarthritis of the knee

This study is an interventional, Phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-site, clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of intra-articular injections of GRT7039 in adult subjects with moderate to severe pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee despite having received treatment with standard-of-care analgesics.

The purpose of this research study is to confirm the efficacy and safety of RTX-GRT7039 as an intra-articular injection of the novel analgesic resiniferatoxin (RTX).

A prospective, multi-center, randomized controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ARCR augmented with REGENETEN™ bioinductive implant system in full-thickness tears (large or massive) repair versus ARCR alone

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to hold the shoulder in place. Torn rotator cuff tendons are common injuries that result in shoulder weakness and pain. These injuries can be treated with medications, injections, and physical therapy. However, when symptoms continue despite these treatments, surgery is often recommended to repair the injured tendon.


One option for repairing torn rotator cuff tendons involves applying a protective layer of collagen over the injured tendons to aid in healing and stop disease progression. Collagen is the most commonly found protein in the body and is present in the skin, bones, tendons and ligaments. The REGENETEN™ Bioinductive Implant, which has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and is commercially available on the market (CE marked), is inserted during surgery to provide a layer of collagen over injured tendons.


The purpose of this research study is to assess whether the REGENETEN™ Bioinductive Implant is better than standard repair techniques for surgically treating full-thickness rotator cuff tears.

Robotic Arthroplasty: A clinical and cost effectiveness randomised controlled trial for Total Hip Replacement

Hip replacement is usually very successful; however, some patients continue to have pain and cannot return to normal activities. Robotic systems are being used increasingly to help perform this operation, but we do not know if they improve outcomes for patients. Some people think that robots help to fit the new hip joint with more precision which could improve outcomes. Using robotic systems cost more money, but this might be worth it if they provide better outcomes for patients.


The purpose of this research study is to find out if:


1. Robotic assisted hip replacement gives better results for patients compared to non-robotic hip replacement.

2. Robotic assisted hip replacement good value for money for the NHS when compared to non-robotic hip replacement.

Open-label, multi-centre phase 2 study of denosumab in subjects with giant cell tumours of bone

Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody to RANKL, inhibits osteoclast-mediated bone destruction and has been shown to provide therapeutic benefit for patients with giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB).

Participants who were receiving denosumab at the conclusion of the previous Study (20062004) can continue receiving denosumab. Retreatment with denosumab will also be available for patients who completed denosumab treatment in 20062004 and who will experience disease recurrence in long term follow-up. This study will continue to follow subjects with GCTB who were treated in Study 20062004 and remained on the study at the completion of Study 20062004 for an additional 5 years of long-term safety follow-up.

The purpose of this research study is to learn more about how safe denosumab is in long-term treatment of participants with giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB).