Prof. Dr. Eleftheria Zeggini

Prof. Zeggini joined the Helmholtz Zentrum München in 2018 as founding director of the Institute of Translational Genomics. She and her team focus on sequence variations in the human genome and their impact on health and disease using high-throughput sequencing technologies. They also develop and apply robust statistical and computational tools for the integration of big multi-omics data. At the ExCarBon summer school 2023 Prof. Zeggini talked about “Translational genomics of osteoarthritis”.

Prof. Dr. Christopher Little

Professor Christopher Little is director of the Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Labs at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research at Royal North Shore Hospital, Australia. He and his team are working on defining the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of joint pathology in osteoarthritis. Prof. Little is internationally renowned for his excellence in the development and use of animal models of bone and joint disease. At the ExCarBon summer school 2023 Prof. Little talked about “Disease phenotype and the translation utility of pre-clinical osteoarthritis models: lessons from studying the immunobiology of joint injury and post-traumatic osteoarthritis risk”.

Prof. Dr. Bent Brachvogel

Head of Experimental Neonatology at at the University Hospital Cologne

Prof. Brachvogels research focuses on a wide range of developmental factors that have a decisive influence on a child's health. Various risk factors such as nutritional disorders, inflammatory processes or premature birth can significantly limit the viability and quality of life of a newborn, and his lab want to understand the molecular causes of these changes. Furthermore, his research aims to understand the causes and mechanisms of musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Prof. Brachvogel talked about “Mitochondria and matrix organisation - novel insights into respiration dependent endochondral ossification process".

Prof. Dr. Frank Beier

Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario

Prof. Beier is the Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Research at the University of Western Ontario and a member of Western’s Bone and Joint Institute. His lab explores mechanisms controlling cartilage and joint biology, using genetically engineered mice in combination with surgical, dietary and activity manipulations. One of his interest is to identify and study mechanisms, which start and drive osteoarthritis with the long term aim of identifying new treatments for this disease. Prof. Beier talked about “Epigenetic and genetic mechanisms in osteoarthritis pathogenesis”.

Prof. Ali Mobasheri

Professor of Musculoskeletal Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, UK and the President of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)

His main area of research is cartilage biology and the identification, validation and qualification of new biomarkers for degenerative and inflammatory diseases of joints like osteoarthritis. Prof. Mobasheri talked about “Immunometabolic aspects of osteoarthritis".

Prof. Andrew A. Pitsillides

Professor of Skeletal Dynamics, Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

The focus of his research is on skeletal mechanobiology during development, growth, adulthood and ageing. Prof. Pitsillides talked about “Evolving biomechanical aspects of osteoarthritis".

Prof. Brian Johnstone

Professor / Research Director, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, USA

His main areas of expertise are stem cell and chondrocyte biology during development and cartilage pathology and musculoskeletal tissue engineering. Prof. Johnstone talked about “Considering development as the inspiration for joint regeneration is very trendy, but is it valid?".

Prof. Dr. Gerjo J.V.M. van Osch

Head of the Connective Tissue Cells and Repair Group at the Department of Orthopaedics and Otorhinolaryngology at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam

Prof. van Osch is focusing her research interest on cellular responses in degenerating and regenerating connective tissues in osteoarthritis and tendinosis with a special emphasis on anabolic processes in tissue repair.

Prof. Dr. Tonia Vincent

Professor of musculoskeletal biology at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford

Prof. Vincents main research interests include pathways that drive mechanosensitive responses in cartilage, the role of the pericellular matrix in determining these responses and how they modulate osteoarthritis in vivo.