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 the URMC 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 CORT requires 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.

Serious, drug-resistant staph infections are a growing problem in health care in the United States and across the globe. In a coordinated effort to stop these superbugs, investigators from the University of Rochester Medical Center have been selected to lead an ambitious, five-year project, with an emphasis on infections from complex orthopedic surgeries such as joint replacement, fracture repair, or trauma.

AOTrauma, part of the Switzerland-based AO Foundation, awarded $3 million to a team led by Stephen l. Kates, M.D., professor of Orthopaedics at URMC. The URMC has been studying ways to combat Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) for several years. Edward M. Schwarz, Ph.D., a co-investigator on the AOTrauma project, the Burton Professor of Orthopaedics, and director of the URMC Center for Musculoskeletal Research, is leading the development of a vaccine to prevent MRSA infections following bone and joint surgery.