# Regenerative Musculoskeletal Medicine Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2021 · $279,174

## Abstract

Project Summary
Over the past ten years, we have established a training program focused on regenerative medicine as it relates
to musculoskeletal disease. Projects undertaken by trainees have addressed mechanisms underlying
musculoskeletal cell commitment and differentiation in development and disease, reconstitution of injured or
missing musculoskeletal tissues with cells, scaffolds and bioactive molecules, use of bioinformatics to address
musculoskeletal diseases and treatment, and strategies to combat implant infections. One of the most unique
attributes of our program is the development of a training experience for orthopaedic surgery residents that
enables them to complete a laboratory-based research project connected to a clinical/ translational extension
of the project within the confines of the residency program. This led to the development of another unique
aspect of our program, a mentoring team for both MD and PhD trainees comprised of an extramurally-funded
basic or translational scientist, a funded clinician scientist and a practicing academic surgeon mentor.
These new components have been highly successful, leading to substantially increased interest among faculty
and trainees and increased interaction between MD and PhD trainees. We propose to expand from four trainee
positions to five owing to a tripling in the number of qualified applicants applying to the program in the last
three solicitations. The Chair of the UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery has pledged funds to cover
operational costs of this expansion and to enrich the overall training experience. Grounded in a pilot study
performed in the current funding period, we propose to improve our evaluation of trainees and mentors by
using quantifiable metrics around standardized survey-based instruments that track the longitudinal progress of
training team members. Based on input from advisory boards and trainees, we diversified our training faculty to
include expertise in health services/outcomes and engineering. Finally, with an eye on succession planning,
we added a third MPI Nicholas Bernthal, MD, a young faculty member who has succeeded in establishing an
extramurally-funded bench research program while maintaining a clinical practice.
Our translational research structure is supported by a robust collection of didactic curricula and seminar series
designed to introduce and refine the skills needed by postdoctoral trainees to understand, design, compose,
undertake and earn extramural financial support for a research project in regenerative medicine. Increased
focus will be placed on exposure of PhD trainees to highly relevant clinical challenges and exposure of
surgeon scientists to basic research in the field of regenerative orthopaedic medicine. The T32 research and
didactic training program is designed to provide individual trainees with 2-3 years of funding in preparation for
their transition into more specialized training and to serve as a source of mentoring suppor...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197690
- **Project number:** 2T32AR059033-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** John S Adams
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $279,174
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2011-08-11 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197690

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197690, Regenerative Musculoskeletal Medicine Training Program (2T32AR059033-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197690. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*