2025 Theses Doctoral

Engineered In Vitro Models for the Study of the Synovium, its Role in Joint Homeostasis, and its Vascularization

Pellicore, Matthew J.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, degenerative joint disease that affected nearly 600 million people worldwide in 2020 and was a major source of economic burden, costing an estimate $80 billion in health-care spending in the United States in 2016 alone. While approximately 12% of OA cases can be explained by previous injury, the vast majority of cases are primary or idiopathic OA and have no known cause. Despite its prevalence, the etiology of primary OA is poorly understood.