Bones, Joints & Muscles

Research on arthritis, osteoporosis, and musculoskeletal conditions

#26 of 29 research categories by total funding · About £19 per person in the UK

Funded awards

4,037

Published funding

£1.3B

Average published award

£409K

Active funded awards

552

NIHR-supported projects

1,862

Amounts are published for 3,129 of 4,037 funded awards. Data as of 16 July 2026.

EPSRC funds the most Bones, Joints & Muscles research — 726 grants (18% of the topic). The busiest year was 2022, with 296 grants.

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

View data table

Funder	Funded awards
EPSRC	726
InnovateUK	655
NIHR	626
MRC	367
Wellcome	353
VsArthritis	348
BBSRC	233
UKRI	217
EC	187
Vivensa Foundation	63

Funded Awards by Year

View data table

Year	Funded awards
2006	63
2007	79
2008	85
2009	148
2010	163
2011	129
2012	153
2013	237
2014	227
2015	257
2016	218
2017	244
2018	279
2019	255
2020	271
2021	230
2022	296
2023	288
2024	238
2025	142

Grants


Programme 1: Musculoskeletal health in later life	University of Southampton	MRC	£3.3M	2021	Completed
CIMA: The Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing	University of Liverpool	MRC	£3.3M	2012	Completed
Musculoskeletal Epidemiology Versus Arthritis - Better lives, Safer journey	University of Manchester	VsArthritis	£3.0M	2025	Active
The role of size, shape and structure of bones and joints, in explaining common musculoskeletal diseases	University of Bristol	Wellcome	£1.6M	2018	Completed
Computer-Aided Tracking and Motion Analysis with Ultrasound (CAT&MAUS): Development and Validation of a Novel Joint Assessment System for Orthopaedics	University of Bristol	NIHR	£1.3M	2025	Active
Collagen modifying enzyme COLGALT2 as a mediator of osteoarthritis risk	University of Manchester	MRC	£1.3M	2025	Active
Enabling Individualised Surgical Treatment of Osteoarthritis	University of Leeds	EPSRC	£1.2M	2022	Active
A mechanistic understanding of the role of Col1a2 (the third chain of the type I collagen trimer) in brittle bone disease	University of Liverpool	MRC	£983K	2026	Active
Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research	University of Birmingham	MRC	£850K	2017	Completed
Musculoskeletal functional ability in three diverse Sub-Saharan Africa Populations; assessing muscle strength & function to understand healthy ageing	University of Southampton	MRC	£818K	2022	Active
A multi-scale analysis of modularity and ontogenetic changes in morphology and locomotor biomechanics in the domestic dog	University of Liverpool	BBSRC	£765K	2023	Active
CIMA: The Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing	University of Liverpool	VsArthritis	£625K	2012	Completed
Computational biomechanical modelling to predict musculoskeletal dynamics: application for 3Rs and changing muscle-bone dynamics	University of Leeds	BBSRC	£470K	2024	Active
PIDD-MSK: Physics-Informed Data-Driven Musculoskeletal Modelling	University of Leeds	UKRI	£201K	2024	Completed
Using system-aware and people-centred design methods to help people recover better from musculoskeletal issues	Tortoise Limited	InnovateUK	£67K	2023	Completed
AiKNIT - Programmable Wearable Devices for the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Disorders	Imperial College London	UKRI	£51K	2023	Completed
Modelling Framework for In-Vivo Knee Joint Contact Analysis	Cardiff University	EPSRC	Not disclosed	2021	Completed
Robot-assisted fracture surgery (RAFS)	University of the West of England	NIHR	£646K	2013	Completed
Comparative biomechanics and pathology of mammalian feet	Royal Veterinary College	BBSRC	£433K	2009	Completed
Development of computational models of bone formation and resorption to predict changes in bone in preclinical intervention studies.	University of Sheffield	NC3Rs	£365K	2013	Completed

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Bones, Joints & Muscles

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

Funded Awards by Year

Grants

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