Arthritis UK was delighted to present research by one of our career development fellows at the AMRC Medical Research Showcase in the House of Commons in January.

Dr Erika Kague, based at the University of Edinburgh, is seeking to answer important research questions about the development of osteoarthritis, while using virtual reality to bring the public closer to her innovative research.

Understanding osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a very common disease of our joints that affects 10 million people across the UK. The pain, loss of mobility, and fatigue associated with osteoarthritis can impact all aspects of people’s lives and livelihoods.

Unfortunately, there are currently no drugs that reverse the progression of osteoarthritis and treatments mainly aim to help control symptoms.

Osteoarthritis pain can be caused by nerves interacting with other tissues in the joint such as bones. However, more research is needed to understand the mechanisms of this interaction and its role in the development of osteoarthritis, so that we can end the pain and isolation faced by those living with the condition.

But when developing medicines for osteoarthritis, which cells should we target?

How zebrafish are speeding up research

To find out, Erika is using zebrafish to study how bones and nerve cells interact and how this may lead to pain in osteoarthritis – with the hope of discovering new ways to stop or slow down the disease.

Zebrafish share about 80% of disease-causing genes with humans, so studying the genetics behind osteoarthritis in zebrafish has the potential to identify new therapeutic avenues for treating the disease in people.  

Zebrafish are also transparent for a long period of their lives. This allows Erika and her team of researchers to see how zebrafish joints develop, and study how different tissues interact in the joint and contribute to joint health.

Moreover, zebrafish synovial joints develop osteoarthritis during ageing, like in humans, offering a great opportunity to study how and why osteoarthritis happens.

At the showcase, attendees had the opportunity to experience Erika’s research first hand using virtual reality headsets. They also learned more about how zebrafish can be used to understand the processes involved in the development of osteoarthritis.

Erika has been running virtual reality public and patient engagement events since launching her activity during the Doors Open Day at the University of Edinburgh and at the Edinburgh Science Festival in April 2025. She has also hosted high school students in her lab through the In2science programme.

Further information, photos and videos about Erika’s research and engagement activities are available on the FishEye Reality website and on YouTube: 

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Image 1: From left to right: Dr Michael Thor, Research Programme Manager at Arthritis UK, Andy McGuinness, Public Affairs Manager at Arthritis UK, Dr Erika Kague, Arthritis UK Career Development Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and Rory Stewart, MD/PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.

Image 2: The Arthritis UK exhibit invited guests to use virtual reality headsets to learn more about how zebrafish can be used to understand the processes involved in the development of osteoarthritis.