Prof Cyrus Cooper
OBE, DL, FMedSci
Director & Professor of Rheumatology, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit; Vice-Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton; Professor of Musculoskeletal Science, University of Oxford; and President, International Osteoporosis Foundation
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Prof Cooper leads an internationally competitive programme of research into the epidemiology of musculoskeletal disorders, most notably osteoporosis.
His key research contributions have been: 1) discovery of the developmental influences which contribute to the risk of osteoporosis and fracture in late adulthood; 2) demonstration that maternal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with sub-optimal bone mineral accrual in childhood; 3) characterisation of the descriptive epidemiology of osteoporotic fractures worldwide; 4) leadership of large pragmatic, randomised controlled trials of primary and secondary fracture prevention. He has published extensively (over 1,200 research papers; hi=220) on the causes and prevention of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and sarcopenia. In 2015, he was awarded an OBE for services to medical research. In 2022, he became Director of the MRC National Musculoskeletal Ageing Network. He was also Sub-Panel Membership & Executive for REF 2021 and Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2022.
Landmark publications:
Grant A, Anderson F, Avenell A, Campbell M, Cooper C, et al (the RECORD Trial group). Oral vitamin D3 and calcium for secondary prevention of low-trauma fractures in elderly people (Randomised Evaluation of Calcium Or vitamin D, RECORD): a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2005; 365: 1621-1628.
Javaid MK, Crozier SR, Harvey NC, Dennison EM, Boucher BJ, Arden NK, Godfrey KM, Cooper C, and the Princess Anne Hospital Study Group. Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and childhood bone mass at age nine years: a longitudinal study. Lancet 2006; 367: 36-43.
Harvey NC, Poole JR, Javaid MK, Dennison EM, Robinson R, Inskip HM, Godfrey KM, Cooper C, Aihie Sayer A, and the SWS Study Group. Parental determinants of neonatal body composition. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007; 92: 523-526.
Gluckman PD, Hanson MA, Cooper C, Thornburg KL. Effect of in utero and early-life conditions on adult health and disease. New Engl J Med 2008; 359: 61-73.
Inskip HM, Crozier SR, Godfrey KM, Borland SE, Cooper C, Robinson SM. Women's compliance with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations before pregnancy: general population cohort study. BMJ 2009; 338:b481.
Harvey NC, Mahon PA, Robinson SM, Nisbet CE, Javaid MK, Crozier SR, Inskip HM, Godfrey KM, Dennison EM, Cooper C, and the SWS Study Group. Different indices of fetal growth predict bone size and volumetric density at 4 years old. J Bone Min Res 2010; 25:920-927.
Estrade K, Styrkarsdottir U, Evangelou E, Hsu YH, Duncan EL, Ntzani EE, Oei L, et al (including Cooper C). Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 56 bone mineral density loci and reveals 14 loci associated with risk of fracture. Nat Genet 2012; 44: 491-501.
Lalmohamed A, de Vries F, Bazelier MT, Cooper A, van Staa TP, Cooper C, Harvey NC. Risk of fracture after bariatric surgery in the United Kingdom: population based, retrospective cohort study. BMJ 2012; 345: e5085.
Ioannidis G, Flahive J, Pickard L, Papaioannou A, Chapurlat RD, Saag KG, Silverman S, Anderson FA Jr, Gehlbach SH, Hooven FH, Boonen S,Compston JE, Cooper C, et al. Non-hip, non-spine fractures drive healthcare utilization following a fracture: the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW). Osteoporosis Int 2013; 24: 59-67.
Harvey NC, Sheppard A, Godfrey KM, McLean C, Garratt E, Ntani G, Davies L, Murray R, Inskip HM, Gluckman PD, Hanson MA, Lilycrop KA, Cooper C. Childhood bone mineral content is associated with methylation status of the RXRA promoter at birth. J Bone Miner Res 2014; 29: 600-607.
Harvey NC, Moon RJ , Sayer AA, Ntani G, Davies JH, Javaid MK, Robinson SM, Godfrey KM, Inskip HM, Cooper C; Southampton Women’s Survey Study Group. Maternal antenatal vitamin D status and offspring muscle development: Findings from the Southampton Women’s Survey. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2014; 99: 330-337.
Edwards MH, Ward KA, Ntani G, Parsons C, Thompson J, Sayer AA, Dennison EM, Cooper C. Lean mass and fat mass have differing associations with bone microarchitecture assessed by high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography in men and women from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study. Bone 2015; 18: 145-151
Cooper C, Harvey NC, Bishop NJ, Kennedy S, Papageorghiou AT, Schoenmakers I, Fraser R, Gandhi SV, Carr A, D’Angelo S, Crozier SR, Moon RJ, Arden NK, Dennison EM, Godfrey KM, Inskip HM, et al. Maternal gestational vitamin D supplementation and offspring bone health (MAVIDOS): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2016; 4: 393-402.
Edwards MH, Robinson DE, Ward KA, Javaid MK, Walker-Bone K, Cooper C, Dennison EM. Cluster analysis of bone microarchitecture from high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography demonstrates two separate phenotypes associated with high fracture risk in men and women. Bone 2016; 88: 131-137.
Edwards MH, Parsons C, Bruyère O, Petit-Dop F, Chapurlat R, Roemer FW, Guermazi A, Zaim S, Genant H, Reginster JY, Dennison EM, Cooper C, SEKOIA Study Group. High Kellgren-Lawrence grade and bone marrow lesions predict worsening rates of radiographic joint space narrowing: The SEKOIA Study. J Rheumatol 2016; 43: 657-665. Moon RJ, Harvey NC, Curtis EM, de Vries F, van Staa T, Cooper C. Ethnic and geographic variations in the epidemiology of childhood fractures in the United Kingdom. Bone 2016; 85: 9-14.
GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators (incl. Cooper C). Global, regional and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet 2016; 388: 1545-1602.
Van der Velde RY, Wyers CE, Tesselink E, Geusens PP, van den Bergh JP, de Vries F, Cooper C, Harvey NC, van Staa TP. Trends in oral anti-osteoporosis drug prescription in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 2012: Variation by age, sex, geographic location and ethnicity. Bone 2017; 94: 50-55.
GBD 2016 Risk Factor Collaborators (including Cooper C.). Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet 2017; 390: 1345-1422.
Bayliss LE, Culliford D, Monk AP, Glyn-Jones S, Prieto-Alhambra D, Judge A, Cooper C, et al. The effect of patient age at intervention on risk of implant revision after total replacement of the hip or knee: a population-based cohort study. Lancet 2017; 389: 1424-1430.
Shepstone L, Lenaghan E, Cooper C, Clarke S, Fong-Soe-Khioe R, Fordham R, Gittoes N, Harvey I, Harvey N, et al. Screening in the community to reduce fractures in older women (SCOOP): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2018; 391: 741-747.
Kanis JA, Harvey N, McCloskey E, Bruyere O, Veronese N, Loretzon M, Cooper C et al. Algorithm for the management of patients at low, high and very high risk of osteoporotic fractures. Osteopor Int 2020; 31: 1-12.
Major grants:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre [Lead Applicant]. Medical Research Council, 2021-2026: £8.5m.
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (and linked programme grants) [Lead applicant]. Medical Research Council, 2015-2020: £14.9m.
Project grant: 14/46/02 - The role of hospital organisation, surgical factors, and the enhanced recovery pathway, on patient outcomes and NHS costs following primary hip and knee replacement surgery: spatial and longitudinal analysis of routine data (with Dr A Judge et al). National Institute for Health Research, 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2018: £510,503.
Maths, Engineering and Life Sciences: making connections for precision medicine (with Prof Deborah Mackay et al). Medical Research Council, 1 March 2016 – 28 February 2018: £500,000.
Project grant: Epigenetic biomarkers and determinants of cardiovascular risk in children (with Prof M Hanson et al). British Heart Foundation, 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2020: £1.4m.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Nutrition – Respiratory Research (with Prof R Read et al). National Institute for Health Research, 2016-2021: £15m.
Clinical Research Training Fellowship (E Curtis). Epigenetic determinants of bone microarchitecture. The Wellcome Trust, August 2016 – September 2019: £252,397.
Project grant: Manualising Individualised Placement Support for people with unemployment due to chronic pain and testing the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (with Prof K Walker-Bone). National Institute for Health Research, September 2016 – February 2019: £260,000.
Does the beneficial effect of maternal gestational vitamin D supplementation on neonatal bone mass persist into childhood? Follow up of the MAVIDOS placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised trial (with Professor Nick Harvey). Arthritis Research UK, Sept 2016 – Aug 2021: £362,895.
HDHL-Biomarkers: Early life programming of childhood health (ALPHABET) (with Prof Nick Harvey). BBSRC, April 2017 – November 2019: £101,404.
Early influences on bone development - cross cohort analysis. BBSRC/HDHL, January 2017- October 2019: £125,000 (of total £1.2m).
What are the modifiable factors that would enable people to work to older ages in good health and comfort? (with Prof Karen Walker-Bone et al). Colt Foundation, July 2017 – June 2020: £124,304.
Engaging adolescents in changing behaviour [EAChB] (with Prof Mary Barker et a;). NIHR, Oct 2017 – Dec 2022: £1.4m.
Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis (with Prof Mark Batt et al). Arthritis Research UK, January 2018 – January 2023: £1,9m.
Collaborative Award: AUGMENT (with Profs Jon Tobias, Nicholas Harvey et al). The Wellcome Trust, September 2018 – August 2023: £1.6m.
Does epigenetic age acceleration predict future accelerated musculoskeletal ageing? (Dr Nick Fuggle). The Dunhill Medical Trust, August 2018 – July 2021: £194,950.
The influence of the physical food environment and social networks on adolescents’ dietary intakes (Dr Christina Vogel). NIHR Southampton BRC Studentship, 2018 – 2021: £45,000.
The role of size, shape and structure of bones and joints, in explaining common musculoskeletal diseases (with Prof Nick Harvey et a;). The Wellcome Trust, September 2018 – August 2023: £275,965.
Nudging healthier dietary habits: evaluation of a supermarket placement strategy in the WRAPPED Study (with Dr Christina Vogel, Prof Janis Baird et al). NIHR PHR, Oct 2018 – Sept 2021: £640,000.
Impact example:
Prevention of osteoporotic fractures throughout the lifecourse.