Osteoarthritis (OA) is the single most common cause of disability in older adults and is expected to continue to grow in the decades to come. Despite the major socio-economic impact, OA patients are facing a staggering lack of disease-modifying
therapies, leaving invasive total joint replacement as the only currently available option to treat end-stage OA. Joint replacement surgery involves removing the damaged joint and replacing it with an artificial joint. While joint replacement can significantly improve patients' quality of life, it is an invasive procedure with potential risks and complications. Moreover, the lifetime risk of requiring revision surgery has been shown to dramatically increase in middle-aged patients as compared to elderly patients. Furthermore, joint replacement is not suitable for all patients, especially those with multiple joint involvement or other health conditions that increase surgical risks.
OSTASKILLS is based on a research programme aimed at the clinical development and market introduction of medical devices, pharmaceutical products and advanced therapy medicinal products for joint repair and aims to postpone or eliminate the need for joint replacement.
OSTASKILLS aims at attracting ten talented doctoral candidates worldwide. Currently 8 early stage researchers have joined the doctoral training programme and are working on dedicated research projects.
The doctoral candidates are receiving training through research and training by education. The main training objectives are: a variety of scientific methods within the field of regenerative medicine, as well as other transferable skills to
improve the career perspectives of the doctoral candidates. OSTASKILLS aims to train the next generation of entrepreneurial scientists who are capable of combining and translating major innovations in life sciences towards meaningful clinical applications and the health care market. The field of joint preservation will act as a unique blueprint for the training of entrepreneurial scientists that can find their way towards other clinical application areas following their training in this programme. Every doctoral candidate will work in both an academic, as well as an non-academic partner organisation, to expose the young researchers to diverse research environments and equip them with the skills needed to bring innovations to actual implementation in practice.
