Friday 24 Oct 2025
ADVANCE Study highlighted during Veterans' Minister visit to the Centre for Injury Studies
ADVANCE’s Professor Anthony Bull welcomed the Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones MP, to Imperial College London’s Centre for Injury Studies today. The visit showcased the centre’s pioneering work to improve the health and quality of life for those who have served in the Armed Forces.
Professors Spyros Masouros, Shehan Hettiaratchy, and Arul Ramasamy highlighted the centre’s clinical priorities in brain and musculoskeletal injury — significant healthcare issues experienced by both military personnel and civilians.
The Centre for Injury Studies aims to improve the prediction, protection, treatment, and rehabilitation of all types of traumatic injuries. They bring together engineers, scientists and clinicians to better understand traumatic injuries and how protective equipment can prevent them.
Innovation in Action
Dr Angela Kedgley led a tour of their cutting-edge labs, where the Minister saw demonstrations of projects designed to protect, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate veterans after trauma-related injuries. This included a demonstration of a machine simulating the creation of combat injuries to better study how effective protection can limit injuries.
highlighting the ADVANCE Study
One of the Centre’s focus areas is supporting the health of those who have served in the Armed Forces, by understanding the impact of injuries sustained during service and how quality of life can be improved through treatment, rehabilitation and recovery.
Professor Bull highlighted the importance of the ADVANCE Study. As a lifetime cohort study, our research offers a uniquely comprehensive understanding of the long-term outcomes of blast and other battlefield trauma. Through our research, we gain knowledge that helps to ensure the best possible care for both current and future injured service personnel and enables appropriate support for them and their families.
The visit also included a meeting with veteran Matt Weston, who shared his lived experience on veterans’ health and participation in both the ADVANCE Study and OpRESTORE (an NHS service supporting veterans with complex physical health injuries). Matt’s testimony underscores the real-world importance and human impact of our research.
Government Support
The Veteran’s Health Innovation Fund run by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs with the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is a £5 million scheme which supports the development of technologies, interventions and treatments to meet veterans’ physical and mental health needs.
Imperial has been awarded funding through the Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund for projects focused on advancing prosthetics and rehabilitation for amputee veterans, including a project directly associated with ADVANCE.
Photos © Imperial College London.
