The Centre for Musculoskeletal and Medicolegal Research

The Centre for Musculoskeletal and Medicolegal Research provides leadership in the fields of tissue mechanics, orthopaedic biomechanics, bioengineering, musculoskeletal science, bone biomechanics, forensic biomechanics, biomaterials and tissue substitutes, trauma and impact and accident analysis.

Our main expertise is in the areas of bone analysis and characterization, mechanobiology and tissue properties. The new data derived from activities in these areas is used to inform our teaching programme, which is integrated and embedded within the Modular Forensic Masters programme run by the Cranfield Forensic Institute.

Past and Current Research

Research publications

Research studentships – Internships – ERASMUS mobility

The Centre for Musculoskeletal and Medicolegal Research invites the expression of interest for undertaking a research degree (PhD, MSc) in any of the research areas that are currently active.

These research areas vary from the usual basic bone biomechanics topics (properties of ageing bone; microcracks and their analysis; damage mechanics in bone; fatigue damage accumulation; micromechanical bone properties) to the more modern topics of numerical and computational biomechanics (micro-finite element modelling studies starting from structural information provided by CT scans) and expanding into the physicochemical analysis of small bone samples.

Summer research internships, which are also considered by some Universities and establishments as industrial summer placements, are also welcome and the college has a programme to vet and process such applications.

Dr Peter Zioupos has over a number of years hosted a number of ERASMUS (European research mobility programme) students who arrived in CMMR from various European universities to spend a period of intense research study. This stay-period is usually from April to end of July and culminates with the writing up of a report, which is completed under the guidance of the host institution (Cranfield University) and is handed over to the European institution of the student’s origin.

Short Courses

The Centre provides an input within the musculoskeletal context to a number of modules of the Forensic masters programme and supervises the teaching in the modules: