The Petrigliano Lab focuses on studying the underpinnings of chronic shoulder skeletal muscle wasting due to atrophy, fibrotic scarring and accumulation of pathological fat tissue following large rotator cuff tendon tears. The presence of skeletal muscle degeneration during the healing process may result in persistent weakness and increase the risk of rotator cuff repair failure. Consequently, our team is exploring cutting-edge approaches to improve rotator cuff function. Our research uniquely integrates stem/progenitor cell biology and pharmacologic small molecule therapy in clinically relevant models of orthopaedic injury with the ultimate goal of developing novel combinatorial treatments for muscle injury.
