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The Department of Mechanical Engineering has appointed leading orthopaedic surgeon Sarah Muirhead-Allwood as a Visiting Professor, recognising her outstanding contributions to research and long-standing collaboration with Imperial.

Sarah Muirhead-Allwood is one of the most prominent orthopaedic hip surgeons internationally, with a distinguished clinical career spanning more than three decades. She founded her hip replacement practice at the Princess Grace Hospital in 1989 and has since performed over 15,000 total hip replacement procedures. At the peak of her clinical activity, she was undertaking up to 700 surgeries annually.

Alongside her clinical and commercial achievements, Sarah has made substantial contributions to the engineering dimensions of orthopaedics. She has been involved in the development of seven hip replacement technologies across multiple companies and has contributed extensively to the orthopaedic scientific literature. Her work is underpinned by a unique longitudinal dataset spanning 35 years and 15,000 patients, providing valuable insights into long-term implant performance and patient outcomes.

Sarah’s collaboration with the Department of Mechanical Engineering began in 2013, when she undertook a consultancy project and first worked with Professor Jonathan Jeffers. This initial engagement developed into a sustained research partnership, involving Professor Jeffers and Dr Richard van Arkel in Engineering, and Professor Justin Cobb in Medicine.

Over the past decade, this collaboration has contributed to more than £5 million in research funding from UKRI, the Wellcome Trust, NIHR and industry partners, alongside 13 publications in top-quartile orthopaedic journals. Sarah has helped shape research directions to ensure clinical relevance, developed novel surgical approaches that enable in situ measurement of joint biomechanics, and supported the translation of experimental techniques into realistic surgical contexts through specialist training and expertise.

Internationally recognised for her contributions, Sarah is a member of the prestigious International Hip Society, which includes only a small number of UK surgeons. Her achievements have been acknowledged through numerous honours, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Hip Society in 2025 and the Robert Jones Lectureship and Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons in 2021.

Her appointment as Visiting Professor formally recognises her significant contribution to Imperial’s research over the past decade and reflects the continued strength of her collaboration with Imperial's biomechanics research community.