Rochester, NY Medical #1 in Ortho Research Funding

Which U.S. institution receives the most National Institute of Health funding for orthopedic research? According to data released by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the University of Rochester Medical Center’s (URMC) Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, New York, ranks Number 1. The department received $4.86 million in peer-reviewed NIH research grants in 2012 surpassing institutions such as Washington University, Johns Hopkins and Duke University. Over the previous four years the Centers for Musculoskeletal Research (CMSR) came in Number 2 in orthopedic funding.

“This is a testament to the caliber of URMC’s orthopaedic research endeavors and our stellar class of investigators, ” said Edward M. Schwarz, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Musculoskeletal Research and the Burton Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedics. “Our funding success is due in large part to a programmatic organizational design, a strong emphasis on collaboration across departments, and the diverse research interests of our faculty.”

Seven URMC orthopedic researchers made the 2012 Blue Ridge list of individual funding recipients. They are:

Top row:

• Regis J. O’Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, who ranked Number 3 in the nation
• Edward M. Schwarz, Ph.D., who ranked Number 4
• Matthew J. Hilton, Ph.D., Number 16
• Hani A. Awad, Ph.D., Number 67

Bottom row:

• Michael J. Zuscik, Ph.D., Number 77
• Xinping Zhang, B.M., Ph.D., Number 94
• Roman Eliseev, M.D., Ph.D., Number 114

Among the research projects the faculty is working on is the development of a vaccine to prevent life-threatening methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) infections following bone and joint surgery. They have developed an antibody that appears to offer about 50% protection against the bacteria.

Another is the identification of a drug that can enhance bone repair after traumatic injury by marshalling bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the earliest cells that form cartilage, bone and connective tissue. Investigators are exploring ways to control, expand and keep MSCs in a state of extended infancy, so they can be used for tissue and joint repair.