About Us
Diseases of bones, joints and muscles affect every aspect of daily life. Because they control the way we move, they can make the simplest tasks seem like Herculean challenges and can make life seem unbearable.
Under the leadership of Drs. Michael Brenner and Julie Glowacki, the Musculoskeletal Research Center at the BWH Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) strives to enhance, synergize, and stimulate interdepartmental and individual research that focuses on bones, joints, muscles, and the disorders that affect them. Investigative teams at BWH are seeking innovative treatments for osteoporosis, expanding our understanding of stem cells and tissue engineering which may lead to new therapies for damaged cartilage, and studying a broad range of disorders including skeletal health, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus, fractures, sports injuries, and cancers.
By encouraging communication and interactions among scientists and clinicians, the BWH-BRI Musculoskeletal Research Center facilitates progress in clinical, translational, and basic research in ways that would be unfeasible for an individual group or traditional department. By bringing together outstanding researchers and health professionals from a variety of disciplines, the BWH-BRI Musculoskeletal Research Center provides BWH researchers with opportunities to collaborate and exchange ideas and to share a wide array of tools that will help them investigate complex research questions.
Center investigators are involved in innovative studies to identify disease risk factors, enhance imaging techniques toward optimizing early detection and monitoring of musculoskeletal diseases, and employing nanotechnology to develop novel therapies and improve existing treatments. Pivotal research advances by BWH investigators which have impacted the understanding and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases include:
- Pioneering minimally invasive joint replacement procedures
- Discovering new medications for rheumatoid arthritis, helping to advance new therapies that limit disease progression
- Advancements in cartilage regeneration
Our Departmental Affiliates
The BWH-BRI Musculoskeletal Research Center supports transformative interdisciplinary research, engaging the talent and resources of a diverse group of investigators. Research is conducted by physicians and scientists spanning the departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Dermatology, Medicine, Neurology, Orthopedic Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, and Rehabilitation Services.
Our Investigators
BWH investigators are nationally and internationally recognized for their contributions to advances in musculoskeletal research as recipients of prestigious awards, including election to the National Academy of Sciences. Additionally BWH investigators hold specialized grants to conduct interdisciplinary research, including a National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to lead a clinical trial on arthroscopic knee surgery approaches, as well as another NIAMS grant for the study of hip replacements in Medicare patients, the genetics of rheumatoid arthritis and to conduct a randomized trial of osteoporosis medication compliance.
To Learn More
To learn more about the hospital’s efforts in care of bones, joints and muscles, visit the Orthopedic and Arthritis Center of Excellence site. To learn more about the BWH-BRI Musculoskeletal Research Center, email bwhresearch@partners.org.
This page was last modified on 4/25/2008
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