Admin Core

     The Achilles Tendinopathy Center of Research Translation (AT-CORT) at the University of Pennsylvania will foster fundamental discovery research to guide translation, as well as employ and develop translational resources, models and technologies, to address the highly significant research and unmet clinical challenge of Achilles tendinopathy. Despite the high frequency and increasing prevalence of tendinopathy to young and old patients alike, the significant pain and disability, as well as the associated high cost to society, evaluation and development of effective treatment modalities is hindered by the lack of fundamental guiding data on the mechanobiology of tendon etiology and pathogenesis. At the University of Pennsylvania, we are uniquely positioned with a critical mass of multidisciplinary scientists and clinicians with strong interest and expertise in these and related areas. The Center’s efforts will span from the nucleus, to the cell, to the tissue, to in vivo animal models and to living human subjects in a coordinated “back-and-forth” manner across scales to guide innovative approaches to Achilles tendinopathy. The Center’s research will discover fundamental physiologic processes to guide translation. It will also as serve as a test bed for defining the role, as well as the scientific and translational rigor, of a repetitive use Achilles tendinopathy animal model through implementation of an exciting series of in vivo longitudinal assays to be conducted in parallel in both animal and human subjects.

• Aim 1, Provide leadership for Center components and activities and advise the Center Director regarding current or potential future activities of the Center.

• Aim 2, Manage, evaluate and monitor the Center components and activities.

• Aim 3, Communicate the Center’s activities to the scientific, clinical, and lay communities.

• Aim 4, Administer the Pilot and Feasibility Grant Program and its associated funding and reporting.

• Aim 5, Implement an Enrichment Program. The Core and Research Projects have been carefully developed in concert to bridge the fundamental and applied while being highly interactive.

       With regular guidance from our Committee structure (External Advisory, Executive, Communication, Enrichment), we will adapt our efforts to address our translational theme in the most efficient, effective, and productive manner possible. Our Pilot and Feasibility Grant program will foster new and innovative project directions consistent with our theme as well as support development of novel technologies to bring to our projects and for translation of our efforts. Our approach will serve as a critical paradigm for other tendon and indeed other musculoskeletal disorders and we will build on these efforts. A well organized and well-structured Administrative Core is absolutely essential to accomplish the Aims of the Center’s highly interdisciplinary and interactive Research Projects and Core, and to maximize research activity, efficiency, productivity, communication, and ultimate impactful translation of our efforts to the scientific and lay community.