The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that come together as tendons at the head of the humerus and provide stability and motion assistance to the shoulder joint. Rotator cuff tears and injuries are a major source of pain and disability, particularly among older populations. Current treatment options include: physical therapy and/or surgical tendon repair.
Our research focus lies on the pathophysiology of chronically injured skeletal muscle and stem/progenitor cell biology. Current topics of study include:
- Identification of mouse and human muscle residing progenitor cell subsets and delivery of novel therapeutic stem/progenitor cell subsets that are specialized to restore muscle after chronic injury.
- Generation and characterization of advanced human 2D and 3D muscle culture systems for drug testing in multicomplex conditions that mimic a range of environmental cues, associated with myo-fibro-adipogenic skeletal muscle degeneration.
- Studying novel small molecules that have the potential to simultaneously reduce fibrosis and fat infiltration while promoting regeneration of injured muscle. This so-called “triple therapeutic” may be revolutionary in the treatment of acute and chronic muscle injury.
