Cyrus Cooper - Biography#
As Director of the internationally renowned MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Southampton (75 staff; £14.9m at renewal 2015-20), Professor Cooper leads five research programmes which contribute internationally to a framework for prevention of ill health in our ageing population through the prevention of musculoskeletal and metabolic disorders.
His research is world-leading (Thomson Highly Cited author, 2016-21; career total publications 1,023 [last 5 years=584]; 210,762 citations; h-index 213). He has pioneered epidemiologic studies of osteoporosis; contributed to understanding risk assessment and treatment of the disorder; and discovered novel approaches to prevention at the earliest stages of the lifecourse (maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy). He opened the WHO Ministerial Conference on Lifecourse and Health, 2015; and contributed to the WHO Global Action Plan on Ageing and Health, 2016.
His research has had a direct impact on patient care and public health. As President of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), he has led production of widely adopted European Guidelines for the Treatment of Osteoporosis (2019) and translated these to local use through the UK National Osteoporosis Guideline Group (2020). The global Best Practice Framework he initiated (Capture the Fracture) has become an international benchmark for Fracture Liaison Services.
Through other leadership roles, he has integrated musculoskeletal health and population science within national and international clinical, academic and policy arenas; these include Sub-panel membership of the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (following membership in the foregoing Research Assessment Exercise); Chair of the MRC Population Health Sciences Research Network (2010 - 2015); Chair, British Heart Foundation Project Grants Committee (2013-current); Chair, Versus Arthritis Clinical Studies Groups (2016 - 2021); and Chair, Academy of Medical Sciences Selection Panel (2013 - 2016).
He contributes strongly to patient and public involvement in research, through my lead roles in the National Osteoporosis Society (membership 25,000) and IOF (representing 2.1m patients worldwide), as well as through the award-winning education programme (Lifelab) addressing lifestyle choices among schoolchildren.
