CXCL10 is Upregulated in Synovium and Cartilage following Articular Fracture.

Virginia Byers Kraus, MD, PhD, is the Mary Bernheim Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Pathology and a faculty member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute in the Duke University School of Medicine. She is a practicing Rheumatologist with over 30 years’ experience in translational musculoskeletal research focusing on osteoarthritis, the most common of all arthritides. She trained at Brown University (ScB 1979), Duke University (MD 1982, PhD 1993) and the Duke University School of Medicine (Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Rheumatology). Her career has focused on elucidating osteoarthritis pathogenesis and translational research into the discovery and validation of biomarkers for early osteoarthritis detection, prediction of progression, monitoring of disease status, and facilitation of therapeutic developments. She is co-PI of the Foundation for NIH Biomarkers Consortium Osteoarthritis project. Trained as a molecular biologist and a Rheumatologist, she endeavors to study disease from bedside to bench.

The McNulty Lab is working to develop strategies to prevent osteoarthritis and to promote tissue repair and regeneration following joint injury. In order to accomplish this, we are working in three main areas.  1) We are working to understand the pathways that are activated by normal and injurious mechanical loading of cartilage and meniscus and how these mechanotransduction pathways are altered during aging, injury, and tissue degeneration. A greater understanding of alterations in mechanosensitive signaling mechanisms with aging and injury will likely reveal potential targets to promote tissue repair and prevent tissue degeneration and osteoarthritis development. 2) We are developing meniscus tissue engineered constructs that will be utilized to repair and replace meniscus tissue lost due to injury and surgical resection.  3)  We are focusing on the biological and biomechanical changes that occur in the joint following meniscus injury and how these may contribute to osteoarthritis development.