This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. In this COBRE II grant we aim to develop multidisciplinary researchers in the field of osteoarthritis (OA), from the lab bench to the clinic, with a unique focus on mentoring Women In Science and Engineering (WISE). In this proposal, each of the five projects is lead by a women faculty member. Women faculty in science, and especially engineering, are under-represented. At the University of Delaware, women make up 17% of the faculty of science and 10% of the faculty in engineering. Delaware is not unique in this regard. National averages show similar trends (Nelson, 2005). Thus, our aim is to provide a forum for mentoring and promoting women faculty working in the field of arthritis research. This COBRE II grant, as is COBRE I grant, is administered through our Center for Biomedical Engineering Research (CBER) at the University of Delaware. CBER has been in existence since the early 1990's and provides a forum for researchers in different departments to work together on mulitidisciplinary projects related to translational medicine using biomedical engineering tools. Without exception, all of the research grants through the center (which are mostly R01s) have faculty from at least two colleges working together on multidisciplinary projects that tie together both basic research and clinical treatment. The scientific goal of this COBRE II grant is to create the infrastructure and expertise base to address the mechanisms of OA, as well as its prevention and treatment. The uniqueness of the approach to be employed by our center will be the examination of OA from the integrated perspectives of tissue mechanics, biomechanics, physical therapy and clinical intervention. A foundation for this has been laid by our initial COBRE I grant. In our proposed work, we will build upon the distinctive organization of CBER and the collaborative projects described in this application. In addition to the integration provided by the overarching research aims of the Center, as mentioned above, we aim to establish a core facility for mentoring women in science and engineering. We also aim to continue and expand our instrumentation core in the area of biomedical imaging. Multiple projects benefit from the core facilities provided by the Center. We also encourage other faculty at the University that are not directly involved in the Center to make use of these cores, and will provide mentoring, technical staff and training to make such benefits more accessible.
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