An interdisciplinary team of Thurston Arthritis Research Center members spanning biomedical engineering, exercise and sports science, biostatistics has received a new 5-year, $3M R01 Grant from the National Institutes of Health titled “Discovering the Mechanisms Linking Gait to Osteoarthritis Onset and Progression.”
The project is led by co-principal investigators Jason Franz, associate professor in the joint department of biomedical engineering, and Brian Pietrosimone, professor in exercise and sport science. Additional collaborators include Brian Diekman and David Lalush, associate professors in the joint department of biomedical engineering, along with Todd Schwartz, professor and associate chair of biostatistics, and Lara Longobardi, associate professor of medicine.
The research team will investigate the underlying mechanistic pathway to explain how aberrant knee joint loading in walking alters the mechanical, biophysical and biological properties of tibiofemoral articular cartilage in individuals at risk for knee osteoarthritis. The researchers noted that “establishing this mechanistic pathway is the single most important milestone toward advancing precision gait retraining as an effective strategy for preventing knee osteoarthritis.”
The TARC pilot funds received by Jason Franz and Brian Pietrosimone helped contribute to the development of the study, with both pilot grants being utilized collaboratively to help secure this award from the NIH.
Project Number: 1R01AR083952-01A1
This story was first written and published on the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering’s website.