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Center Investigators Garner Multiple Grants
Roy K. Aaron, MD, Awarded NIH Career Award
Roy K. Aaron, MD, Director of the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, is the recipient of an NIH Mid-Career Award for Patient Oriented Research (K24).
John P. Donoghue, PhD, Appointed VA Senior Research Career Scientist
John P. Donoghue, Ph.D., has been designated a VA Senior Research Career Scientist for his work allowing individuals with motor impairment to control assistive devices through thought alone.
Deborah McK. Ciombor, PhD, Receives NIH Funding
The Associate Director of the Center, Deborah McK. Ciombor, Ph.D., received NIH funding on a five-year grant entitled "Cartilage Tissue Engineering for Joint Repair" within a newly established Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) for Skeletal Health and Repair.
Leigh R. Hochberg, MD, PhD, Receives Two VA Awards
Center Investigator, Leigh R. Hochberg, M.D., Ph.D. has received two awards from the VA RR&D Service: a Career Development Transition Award, and a Merit Review Award for his research on neuroprostheses and rehabilitation.
Bahar Bilgen, PhD, Granted VA Career Development Award
Center Investigator, Bahar Bilgen, Ph.D., has received a VA Career Development Award for her project entitled, “Tissue engineered cartilage biocomposite for joint rehabilitation.”
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Roy K. Aaron, M.D.
Professor of Orthopaedics and Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University
Director, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University
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Roy K. Aaron, MD, Director of the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, is the recipient of an NIH Mid-Career Award for Patient Oriented Research (K24). The work funded by this grant will study the regulation of cartilage and bone cells by their physicochemical environment, including blood flow and oxygen content. The work will improve our understanding of basic physiological processes relevant to bone healing, arthritis, and the engineering of transplantable cartilage and bone substitutes. Grantees of K24 awards are also recognized for their mentoring responsiblities. Notably, Dr. Aaron is a mentor on the Department of Orthopaedics NIH COBRE award.
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John P. Donoghue, Ph.D.
Henry Merritt Wriston Professor, Dept of Neuroscience; Director, Institute for Brain Science, Brown University
Senior Research Career Scientist, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University
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In July of 2008, Center Investigator John Donoghue, Ph.D., was designated a VA Senior Research Career Scientist. This highly selective designation is awarded to internationally recognized VA researchers who are highly productive, innovative leaders in their fields. Dr. Donoghue is an internationally recognized leader in Neurotechnology. His work on the BrainGate™ system is designed to allow individuals with motor impairment to control assistive devices, and, ultimately, to achieve direct control over their own paralyzed limbs through thought alone. This research has the potential to transform the lives of severely paralyzed individuals, many of whom are completely dependent upon others for basic daily functions. Dr. Donoghue is a Center investigator, director of the Brown University Institute for Brain Science, and a VA researcher at both the Providence and Cleveland VA Medical Centers. In addition to this and other prestigious awards, Dr. Donoghue has also received Germany’s highest honor for basic neurological research, the K.J. Zülch Prize from the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation, a science foundation administered by the Max Planck Society.
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Deborah McK. Ciombor, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Orthopaedics (Research) and Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology (Research), The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University
Associate Director, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University
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The Associate Director of the Center, Deborah McK. Ciombor, Ph.D. received NIH funding on a five-year grant entitled "Cartilage Tissue Engineering for Joint Repair" within a newly established Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) for Skeletal Health and Repair. The COBRE program focuses on cartilage and joint health, including repair and disease prevention in joint diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA), one of the country’s most common chronic illnesses, affecting over 21 million Americans. The long term objective of Dr. Ciombor’s project is to optimize conditions for cartilage repair and transplantation. If successful, this strategy could be extended to the treatment of cartilage defects leading to OA, or possibly to OA itself. The ability to provide biological restoration of articular cartilage would also have widespread applications in the fields of sports medicine, orthopaedics, trauma, and rheumatology
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Leigh R. Hochberg, M.D., Ph.D.
Instructor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Investigator in Neuroscience, Brown University
Vascular and Critical Care Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospitals
Investigator, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University
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Center Investigator Leigh R. Hochberg, M.D., Ph.D., has received two awards from the VA RR&D Service. His Career Development Transition Award (CDTA) is entitled, “Neuroprostheses for Restoration of Function after Paralysis or Limb Loss” and he has received a
Merit Review Award for his “Feasibility of the BrainGate System for Veterans with ALS” project. The proposed research will test the safety and feasibility of an intracortically-based neural interface system. Further development of these devices is focused on providing stable control of assistive devices, including personal computers, by people with advanced disabilities. Mentors of the three year CDTA include Dr. Donoghue, and Dr. Aaron, of the Center, and Dr. P. Hunter Peckham, Director of Center of Excellence in Functional Electrical Stimulation at Cleveland VAMC and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.
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Bahar Bilgen, Ph.D.
Research Associate in Orthopaedics, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University
Investigator, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University
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Center Investigator, Bahar Bilgen, Ph.D., has received a VA Career Development Award for her project, "Tissue engineered cartilage biocomposite for joint rehabilitation.” The aim of her proposed research is to develop a transplantable biocomposite to restore cartilage using tissue-engineering techniques, including use of autologous stem cells, encapsulated drug delivery and novel biomaterials. Mentors of Dr. Bilgen during the 2-year award will be Drs. Deborah Ciombor, Roy Aaron, Edith Mathiowitz, and Tom Webster, who are also Center investigators. The completion of this project will allow Dr. Bilgen to develop an independent research program that investigates methodologies for musculoskeletal tissue engineering.
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Newsletter Editor: Meg Case, Ph.D., Editorial and Education Manager, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine.
This newsletter will be published on an occasional basis announcing milestones in research, Center events, and related news. We invite submissions from all Center Investigators. Please send comments/suggestions to MCase@lifespan.org |
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