The University of Rochester Medical Center was granted a $7.5 million Center of Research Translation (CORT) award for programs designed to find new therapies for arthritis and bone healing. With a rising population of older adults, musculoskeletal diseases are a major economic burden in the United States and in the health-care system, and the award places theURMC in a leadership role for seeking solutions.

Regis O'Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., the Marjorie Strong Wehle Professor in Orthopaedics and department chair, is the principal investigator. He noted that the unique structure of CORTrequires collaboration among scientists, and rewards institutions that build on previous work in a highly integrated environment.

One of the three key initiatives of the CORT grant is Translating how PTH therapy can improve the healing of major bone defects caused by trauma. Led by Edward M. Schwarz, Ph.D., the Burton Professor of Orthopaedics and director of the URMC Center for Musculoskeletal Research, investigators are studying the role of PTH in preventing the body's negative reaction to reconstructive surgery following trauma or cancer.