# Effect of obesity on Achilles tendon homeostasis and healing: Disentangling mechanical load and metabolic syndrome

> **NIH NIH K01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $126,164

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY. Candidate: Dr. Zellers is a physical therapist (Doctor of Physical Therapy, Columbia
University) with a PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Science (University of Delaware). She is Assistant
Professor in Physical Therapy and Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis, having completed her postdoctoral fellowship (Washington University School of Medicine). Dr. Zellers is
a translational, tendon researcher with expertise in in vivo and ex vivo assessment of human subjects and
tissues to elucidate person- and tendon-specific characteristics influencing patient treatment and outcomes.
Mentor and Advisory Committee: Dr. Farshid Guilak will be primary mentor, bringing extensive experience as a
principal investigator in orthopaedics and specific expertise in leveraging the mouse models included in this
study to answer similar questions regarding the effect of obesity in the context of osteoarthritis. Drs. Alayna
Loiselle and Spencer Lake are co-mentors imparting tendon-specific expertise including mechanical,
histological, and molecular biological outcomes assessment. Drs. Gretchen Meyer and Simon Tang are co-
mentors with experience leveraging similar animal models to investigate questions relating to fat-muscle
crosstalk and collagenous soft tissue healing, respectively.
Training Plan: In this Career Development Award, Dr. Zellers will gain training and experience in leveraging
animal models (murine models of obesity, lipodystrophy, and tendon injury) to investigate mechanisms
underlying observations gleaned from her clinical, human studies research line. The proposed training plan
emphasizes building skills in incorporating animal models into her translational research program. Training
goals also incorporate biological approaches to tendon assessment, specifically histological and molecular
biological techniques, which will carry over to Dr. Zellers’s study of human tendon tissue. This award would
provide the training and experience for Dr. Zellers to grow as a translational researcher with a comprehensive
toolkit of in vivo and ex vivo techniques spanning preclinical models to human tissues to human subjects.
Research: Obesity presents both mechanical and biochemical effects on tendon tissue homeostasis and
healing that have not been well elucidated. The proposed study leverages murine models of obesity and
lipodystrophy to determine the effects of high bodyweight and metabolic dysfunction on tendon tissue. We
hypothesize that metabolic dysfunction, more so than mechanical load, promotes tendon degeneration (Aim 1)
and impairs healing (Aim 2), evidenced by abnormal histological appearance, altered gene transcription,
disrupted collagen organization, and impaired tendon function at the tissue and functional performance levels.
Institutional Commitment to the Candidate: Dr. Zellers holds a tenure-track faculty position and has been
provided bench and clinical laboratory space, start-up package, and trai...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10978674
- **Project number:** 1K01AR083496-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Zellers
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $126,164
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10978674

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10978674, Effect of obesity on Achilles tendon homeostasis and healing: Disentangling mechanical load and metabolic syndrome (1K01AR083496-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10978674. Licensed CC0.

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