Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Announces 2014 Research Grants

EDISON, N.J., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF), the world's leading tissue bank today announced the recipients of its 2014 Research Grants.  Since 1987, MTF has been at the forefront of research focused on the transplantation of donated human tissue, with approximately $38 million awarded through 2013.  MTF anticipates awarding close to $2 million in grants and awards in the 2014 calendar year.  The 2014 grant recipients approved for funding are as follows:

PEER REVIEW – ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATOR
This is a multi-year program for any researcher who has previously been funded by a foundation or a federal agency and has published in a peer-reviewed journal as a Principal investigator.

Heike Daldrup-Link, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University, Imaging Immune Responses to Stem Cell Mediated Bone Repair, $300,000

Henry Donahue, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, Hydroxyapatite Nanotopographies to Enhance Allograft Osteointegration, $299,185

Sang Jin Lee, Ph.D., Wake Forest School of Medicine, Allogeneic Decellularized Tissue Scaffolds for Reconstruction of Volumetric Muscle Loss, $300,000

J.R. NEFF AWARD
The J.R. Neff Award honors James R Neff, M.D. who was a highly respected, innovative orthopaedic surgeon and researcher.  During much of his tenure as Chairman of Orthopaedics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he served on MTF's Medical Board of Trustees and Board of Directors.   

Chunfeng Zhao, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Synovialization and Revitalization of Tendon Allograft for Flexor Tendon Reconstruction, $300,000

PEER REVIEW – JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR
This is a one-year award for any Ph.D. or M.D. in post-graduate work or residency and who has never obtained an award from a foundation or a federal agency.

Alan Getgood, M.D., Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic (London, Ontario), Techniques to Reduce Meniscus Extrusion During Meniscus Allograft Transplantation, $51,702

Karin Payne, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Revitalization of Bone Allograft with Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Enhance Spinal Fusion, $100,000

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The Career Development Award is granted to an orthopaedist interested in pursuing and developing an academic career.

Frank Petrigliano, M.D., The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Evaluation of Structural Fibroblasts and Ligament Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, $300,000

OREF AWARD
Since 2000, MTF has provided the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) with one $100,000 unrestricted research grant to aid an investigator in funding their orthopaedic research project.

Abhijit Dighe, Ph.D., University of Virginia, Interaction Between Mesenchymal Stem Cells and T Cells During Osteogenesis, $100,000

HERNDON AWARDS
Through the Orthopaedic Research Education Foundation, two $20,000 grants are awarded in the name of our first President, Charles H. Herndon, M.D., for orthopaedic resident research projects.

Alekos Theologis, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, The Effect of the Endocrine Disrupting Chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) on Endochrondral Ossification in Fracture Repair, $20,000

Nathan Skelly, M.D., Washington University (St. Louis) Biomechanical Analysis of Tensile Properties and Fiber Alignment in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament to Map Ligament Bundle Design, $20,000

FOR INFORMATION
Hans Burchardt, Ph.D.
VP, Scientific Affairs, MTF
570-496-3434

SOURCE Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation