Dr Anthony Hayes has been involved in connective tissue biology and bioimaging for the last 28 years, obtaining his degree in zoology from Swansea University in 1992, a master’s degree at Aberystwyth University in 1994 on the ultrastructure of chondrocytes and their pericellular matrix under different 3D culture environments, and a PhD at Cardiff University in 1999 on the developmental mechanisms involved in formation of the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc. His interests are in extracellular matrix biology; joint development and bioimaging, glycobiology of stem cell niches and morphogenetic mechanisms involved in musculoskeletal connective tissue development, growth and repair.