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Principal Investigator: Jennifer Zellers
Organization: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $126,164
Funding agency: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
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 trainee support.
Terms: <Address><Advisory Committees><Affect><Analgesic Management><Animal Model><Animal Models and Related Studies><Animals><Appearance><Autoregulation><Award><Basic Research><Basic Science><Behavior><Biochemical><Biological><Biology><Biomechanics><Blood Glucose><Blood Serum><Blood Sugar><Body Tissues><Body Weight><Body Weight decreased><Calcanean Tendon><Career Development Awards><Career Development Awards and Programs><Career Development Programs K-Series><Cell Communication and Signaling><Cell Signaling><Characteristics><Clinical><Collagen><Counseling><Degenerative Arthritis><Degenerative polyarthritis><Delaware><Diet><Disease><Disorder><Doctor of Philosophy><Dose><Environment><Faculty><Fats><Fatty acid glycerol esters><Fellowship><Funding><Future><Gait><Gene Expression><Gene Transcription><Genetic Transcription><Genotype><Glean><Goals><Healing abnormal><Healing delayed><Heterozygote><High Fat Diet><Histologic><Histologically><Histology><Homeostasis><Human><Hypercholesteremia><Hyperglycemia><Hyperlipemia><Hyperlipidemia><Impaired healing><Impairment><Individual><Inflammatory><Injury><Institution><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Intracellular Communication and Signaling><Investigation><Investigators><K-Awards><K-Series Research Career Programs><Kinesiology><Knee Osteoarthritis><Laboratories><Lipodystrophy><Measures><Mechanics><Mediating><Medical Rehabilitation><Medication Management><Mentors><Metabolic dysfunction><Metabolic syndrome><Methods><Modeling><Modern Man><Molecular><Morphology><Movement science><Muscle><Muscle Tissue><Non obese><Nonobese><Obesity><Observation research><Observation study><Observational Study><Observational research><Operative Procedures><Operative Surgical Procedures><Orthopedic><Orthopedic Surgery><Orthopedic Surgical Profession><Orthopedics><Osteoarthritis><Osteoarthrosis><Outcome><Outcome Assessment><Pain><Painful><Patient Care><Patient Care Delivery><Patients><Performance><Persons><Ph.D.><PhD><Pharmacologic Management><Physiatric Procedure><Physical Medicine Procedure><Physical Therapeutics><Physical therapy><Physiological Homeostasis><Physiotherapy><Position><Positioning Attribute><Postdoc><Postdoctoral Fellow><Pre-Clinical Model><Preclinical Models><Prevalence><Principal Investigator><RNA Expression><Rehabilitation><Rehabilitation therapy><Research><Research Associate><Research Career Program><Research Personnel><Researchers><Risk><Science><Serum><Signal Transduction><Signal Transduction Systems><Signaling><Skeletal Muscle><Surgical><Surgical Interventions><Surgical Procedure><Task Forces><Techniques><Tendinitis><Tendinopathy><Tendon Injuries><Tendon structure><Tendonitis><Tendons><Testing><Tissues><Training><Transcription><Translating><Translational Research Enterprise><Universities><Voluntary Muscle><Washington><Weight Loss><Weight Reduction><Work><achilles tendon><adipocytokines><adipokines><adiposity><advisory team><biologic><biological signal transduction><biomechanical><blood glucose regulation><body weight loss><care for patients><care of patients><caring for patients><clinical care><clinical investigation><corpulence><degenerative joint disease><diets><exercise training><experience><glucose control><glucose homeostasis><glucose regulation><healing><heterozygosity><high blood cholesterol><high risk><human subject><human tissue><hypercholesterolemia><hyperglycemic><hypertrophic arthritis><improved><in vivo><inflammatory environment><inflammatory milieu><injuries><interventional strategy><knee OA><knee joint OA><knee joint osteoarthritis><mechanic><mechanical><mechanical load><medical college><medical schools><medication therapy management><model of animal><mouse model><murine model><muscular><osteoarthritic><pharmacologic><physical therapist><physiotherapist><post-doc><post-doctoral><post-doctoral trainee><post-doctoral training><postdoctoral training><pre-clinical study><preclinical study><professor><rehab therapy><rehabilitative><rehabilitative therapy><research associates><research study><school of medicine><skills><soft tissue><standard of care><surgery><tenure process><tenure track><tool><training opportunity><translation research enterprise><translational investigator><translational research program><translational researcher><translational scientist><treatment and outcome><treatment effect><treatment strategy><wt-loss>