Joint injuries are overwhelmingly common in both human and equine athletes. Chondrocytes, the sole cell type in cartilage, are responsible for producing and maintaining the extra-cellular matrix (ECM), which affords remarkable tensile and compressive strength to the joint surface. Once damaged, cartilage has little to no ability to heal itself. Therefore, post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) commonly develops following joint trauma, whether sustained during an acute injury or accumulated overtime.

Lab Mission

• To improve cartilage repair using stem cell and gene therapy.
• To limit the long-term effects of joint trauma through gene therapy immunomodulation of the joint.
• To further elucidate the pathogenesis of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA).