Congratulations to Janet Rubin, M.D., Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor; Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine; Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism; Joint Professor, Pediatrics and Pharmacology; Adjunct Professor, Bioengineering, for the receipt of NIH’s NIAMS grant.
Dr. Rubin received grant to study how mesenchymal stem cells, which supply progenitors for bone forming osteoblasts, experience physical force (“exercise”) transferred through the actin cytoskeleton and into the nucleus. The force changes nuclear structure, which we believe has an effect on gene expression. With this funding, they will study how different types of force, through their respective induced actin cytoskeletons, affect nuclear structure and the expression of osteogenic genes. It is a 5-year grant for $2.5 million over 5 years, starting May 1, 2020.