NIH awards USC Stem Cell scientist Denis Evseenko $1.69 million to study arthritis and aging

What causes joints to age, lose their regenerative capacity and succumb to arthritis, and how can we slow this process? To address these questions, the National Institutes of Health have awarded a $1.69 million research project grant to investigator Denis Evseenko, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Evseenko, will collaborate with two co-investigators: Ebrahim Zandi, associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School; and Ruchi Bajpai, assistant professor at the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, and of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the Keck School.

Led by Evseenko, the team will apply the funds from this R01 grant to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that cause joint cartilage to age and lose its regenerative potential, leading to arthritis.