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Dr. Doug Phanstiel, PI & Dr. Richard Loeser, Co-PI, Receive $2.5 Million NIH NIAMS Grant: “Identifying novel osteoarthritis risk genes using GWAS, chondrocyte genomics, & genome editing”

September 20, 2022
The innovative research seeks to identify putative causal knee OA risk variants, map them to their target genes, and quantify their phenotypic impact in chondrocytes.

Dr. Lara Longobardi Publishes Research Demonstrating that Deletion of Ccr2 in Cartilaginous Tissues Reduces Impact of Post Traumatic Osteoarthritis & Pain

September 9, 2022
The research showed early deletion of Ccr2 in aggrecan-expressing cells reduces the initiation, but not the progression, of post traumatic osteoarthritis and its associated pain.

Catch Up On the Latest Developments – View the Current Issue of the TARConnections Newsletter

September 8, 2022
Read about TARC's Strategic Planning Retreat, get an update from our Director, and learn about TARC grants, our upcoming Research Day and seminars, the key offerings of our CCCR, as well as spotlights/kudos for our team members.

The “TARC Heels” Rank as #1 Fundraising Team, Generating Over $3,000 for Arthritis Foundation (AF) Walk

September 2, 2022
Members of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center (TARC) and their families recently braved the heat to "walk the walk" at the 2020 AF event, held in Raleigh, N.C.

Michael (Zhe) Miao, a PhD Student in the Loeser Lab, Receives a Rheumatology Research Foundation “Medical & Graduate Student Achievement Award”

August 31, 2022
This award includes support for him to attend the 2022 ACR Convergence Meeting in Philadelphia, where he will present his abstract, “Redoxosomes Mediate a Feed-forward Loop of Cartilage Matrix Destruction Through α5β1 Integrin Signaling in Response to a Fibronectin Matrikine”.

Dr. Amanda Nelson Receives $950K NIH/NIAMS “Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient Oriented Research (POR)”

August 24, 2022
The 5-year, K24 award from NIH/NIAMS will leverage Dr. Nelson's ongoing POR program, enhance her professional development and that of her trainees, and support her mentoring early stage investigators.

Dr. Saira Sheikh and Team Receive $500K NIH U01 Innovation Award from FDA’s Office of Minority Health & Health Equity to Advance Diversity and Representation in Lupus Clinical Trials

August 22, 2022
The aim of this 1-year award is to advance equity in lupus clinical trials by identifying, synthesizing, and disseminating innovative approaches and best practices to advance participant diversity in lupus clinical trials.

Dr. Amanda Nelson Receives 5-Year, $3.4M NIH Grant to Investigate Intestinal Permeability (“Leaky Gut”) in Multi-Joint Osteoarthritis

August 8, 2022
This research helps address an urgent need to understand the factors that promote progression and worsening of multi-joint osteoarthritis (MJOA), a common but understudied, progressive disease.

Dr. Saira Sheikh co-authors a study recently published in NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) for a novel therapeutic that shows promise in cutaneous lupus

August 1, 2022
Dr. Sheikh was the Principal Investigator for this study, which was conducted at 's Clinical & Translational Research Center (CTRC), a resource through NC TraCS.

Dr. Beth Jonas Is Interviewed By Spectrum News TV Regarding Methotrexate Availability For Rheumatology Patients

July 27, 2022
If access to this medicine were to be become limited as the result of recent legal rulings, it would be a detriment to rheumatology patients who need it, according to Dr. Jonas.