Overall: Resource-based Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders Research (Overall Application)

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The Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders (PCMD) will continue to provide critical resources and programs to, and enhance research productivity of, investigators to address multidisciplinary research strategies for musculoskeletal problems. The overall goal of this Center is to promote cooperative interactions among investigators, accelerate and enrich the effectiveness and efficiency of ongoing research, foster new collaborations and new research, and ultimately, translate our research efforts into better and new therapies for musculoskeletal disorders. The Center theme is “Musculoskeletal Development, Disease, Injury and Repair” while addressing 3 Research Thrust areas. Our PCMD is the home for musculoskeletal research across the Penn campus and a hub for the musculoskeletal community across the region and neighboring states . One focus of our Center is to bridge themes, approaches, and paradigms across musculoskeletal tissues which may be overlooked when studying a single tissue. Since approaches used to evaluate mechanisms in one tissue could aid researchers in other areas, our Center will foster this critical cross-talk. To further focus, we will emphasize small animal models utilizing unique and sophisticated methods that cross length scales. The PCMD will provide unique expertise and tools to investigate musculoskeletal tissues across such scales. Thus, the primary overall Aims of this Center remain to enhance and advance the research productivity of investigators in musculoskeletal development, disease, injury and repair by providing: Aim 1: Innovation within critical resource core facilities in areas that cross disciplines, length scales, and hierarchies. These core facilities remain µCT Imaging, Biomechanics, and Histology; Aim 2: A pilot and feasibility grant program, with direct mentorship; and Aim 3: Educational and research enrichment programs, through which members can learn from national leaders and from each other. High quality musculoskeletal research is being conducted by many groups at Penn, in the region, and neighboring states. While many bring sophisticated approaches to musculoskeletal problems, few have the required expertise and facilities to perform the broad range of rigorous and specialized assays in their own labs. The Center will provide opportunities to integrate techniques to define mechanisms for tissue function, injury, development, degeneration, repair, and regeneration, with the ultimate goal of advancing diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. There is also an intangible feature of our Center. Although our musculoskeletal program is strong nationally, the Penn biomedical research community is large and diverse. As such, the Center serves as an essential mechanism to highlight our successes and the importance of musculoskeletal research across campus, as well as to institutional leadership. Having a strong voice for musculoskeletal researchers for our region is critical to support our collective and individual research goals. In these ways, the Center - with essential support from the P30 - has become and remains an indispensable resource and advocate for our community.