Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Announces 2012 Research Grant Recipients

EDISON, N.J., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF), the world's leading tissue bank has announced the recipients of its 2012 Research Grants.  Since 1987 the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation has been at the forefront of tissue research, with about $33 million awarded through 2011.  MTF anticipates awarding close to $2 million in grants and awards in the 2012 calendar year.  The 2012 grant recipients approved for funding are as follows:

PEER REVIEW – ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATOR

Louis Gerstenfeld, Ph.D., Trustees of Boston University, BUMC, Role of Angiogenesis in Bone Repair.

Matt Kipper, Ph.D., Colorado State University, Smart Cortical Allograft for Reconstruction of Large Segmental Defects.

Xinping Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., University of Rochester, Tracking Perivascular Progenitor Cell Contribution to Bone Graft Repair.

J.R. NEFF AWARD

Thomas Brown, Ph.D., The University of Iowa, Automated Shape-Machining of Custom Bone Allograft Implants.

PEER REVIEW – JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR

Chelsea Bahney, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, Bioresponsive Scaffold Designed to Promote Bone Regeneration Through a Cartilage Intermediate.

Matthew Fisher, Ph.D., Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Controlled Release of Enzymes using Nanofibrous Scaffolds to Improve Integration and Healing Following Meniscal Injury.

Mimi Sammarco, Ph.D., Tulane University, The Revitalization and Optimization of Allografts Prior to Grafting.

Patrick Vavken, M.D., Children's Hospital, Boston, The Use of Bone Marrow Concentrate to Enhance Achilles Tendon Repair.

Abhijeet Wahegaonkar, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Assessment of Nerve Regeneration and Motor Recovery Following Reconstruction of Long Segmental Nerve Defects of the Upper Trunk in a Rabbit Bracheal Plexus Injury Model.  A Comparison between Reversed Autograft and Size-Matched Processed Allograft.

PEER REVIEW – DERMAL

Alexis Armour, M.D., University of Missouri, Acellular Human Dermis as a Scaffold for In Vitro Vascularized Skin Engineering.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Jonathan Schoenecker, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Plasminogen Augments Vascular and Osseous Integration of Transplanted Bone.

OREF AWARD

Chao Xie, M.D., University of Rochester, PTH Effects on Intravenously Delivered hMSC During Skeletal Repair.

HERNDON AWARDS

Nikolas J. Kazmers, M.D., Washington University, The Role of Hedgehog Signaling in Determining the Osteogenic Response to Mechanical Loading of Bone.

Verena M. Schreiber, M.D., University of Pittsburgh, Bone-Tendon-Bone Versus Soft Tissue Autograft Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Is there a difference in In Vivo Grant Performance? 

The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation is a national consortium comprised of academic medical institutions, organ procurement organizations and tissue recovery organizations. Since our inception in 1987, MTF has received tissue from more than 90,000 donors and distributed 5 million grafts for transplantation.

For more information on how you can apply for a research grant, contact Hans Burchardt, Ph.D., Vice-President, Scientific Affairs (570-496-3434 or [email protected]), or go to the MTF website (www.MTF.org).

FOR INFORMATION
Cindy Gordon or Anne Burns
Insight Communication
609-252-1300

SOURCE The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation