Projects

Impact of obesity and type 2 diabetes on Staph aureus bone infection severity

Obese patients have up to a 5-fold increase in susceptibility to orthopaedic metal implant-associated S. aureus surgical infections. Only by understanding the factors contributing to this increased risk will it be possible to design effective therapeutic approaches. Using our mouse model of implant-associated S. aureus osteomyelitis in the background of obesity, we have developed compelling evidence that the hypercoagulable state of obesity that promotes fibrin deposition is critical to the increased virulence of S. aureus in the obese host.

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Role of gut microbiome in mediating increased incidence and severity of osteoarthritis in obese patients

Osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease, afflicts 31 million people in the US, with a global prevalence of disease recently estimated to exceed 250 million. Unfortunately, the only clinically accepted treatment strategies are palliative, with no disease modifying OA drug approved for use in humans. Thus, an effective treatment strategy for OA is a critical unmet need.

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