$100,000 Grant Given to Researchers at Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College
Newswise — Researchers from Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College have been awarded $100,000 by NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League owners, to research tissue engineering for spinal injuries. The research aims to create a living, bioengineered intervertebral disc (IVD) that may be implanted into patients with degenerated discs, either due to injury or chronic wearing with age.
Each year, 40 percent to 60 percent of American adults suffer from chronic back or neck pain. For patients diagnosed with severe degenerative disc disease, or a herniated disc, neurosurgeons perform surgery called discectomy — removing the IVD — followed by a fusion of the vertebrate bones to stabilize the spine. In spite of the surgery, the patient’s back will likely not feel the same as before their injury. Herniated discs are a common injury for professional athletes, who must often suffer with the side effects of currently available discectomy and spinal fusion.
“We hope to create a living implant that is able to grow, adapt and integrate into the spine in order to completely repair the injury and restore function to the spine,” says Dr. Larry Bonassar, principal investigator of the study and associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering at the School of Engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Dr. Bonassar and his lab are constructing engineered IVDs from sheep tissue and cells, molded into the shape and structure of naturally found discs. The IVDs consist of two major structures, an inner nucleus, surrounded by an outer annulus. The scientists grow the cells, which mature and multiply on a natural mold to re-create a fully functional, implantable disc.
“When a disc is herniated, the inner nucleus bursts, causing pain and discomfort to patients because the IVD is no longer able to maintain the correct pressure and alignment of the spine,” explains Dr. Roger Härtl, co-principal investigator of the study and a noted neurological surgeon and co-director of The Spine Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and the Leonard and Fleur Harlan Clinical Scholar and associate professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Dr. Härtl, who is also the Team Neurosurgeon for the New York Giants, is testing the engineered discs, made by Dr. Bonassar, by implanting them into the spines of animals who suffer from disc degeneration. A previous project shows that engineered IVDs, implanted into healthy animals, were able to maintain the proper pressure and support after one year. This new project hopes to show the same results in the injured animals.
“Our goal is to eventually test the bioengineered IVDs in human patients who are suffering from disc degeneration,” says Dr. Härtl.
“We are proud to support sports-related medical research proposals through NFL Charities Medical Research Grants,” says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, president of the NFL Charities Board. “These grants will help to address risk factors for football players and all athletes, and make the game safer.”
This year, NFL Charities has awarded more than $1.6 million in grants to support sports-related medical research at 16 organizations. This year’s grants include studies on association between football exposure and dementia in retired football players; the dynamic heart rate behavior of NFL athletes; the prevalence, distribution and fate of MRSA on synthetic turf grass systems; concussion surveillance among a large national sample of middle school football players; the role of cervical spine in football-related concussion; and an integrated neuroimaging study for diagnosing and monitoring mild traumatic brain injury in football players. Cornell University / Department of Biomedical Engineering
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was founded in 1865. It is both a private university and the land-grant institution of New York state. On the Ithaca campus alone nearly 20,000 students representing every state and 120 countries choose from among 4,000 courses in 11 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. The Department of Biomedical Engineering faculty and graduate field members specialize in five primary research areas: imaging and instrumentation, biomedical mechanics, nano-biotechnology, tissue engineering, and biomaterials and drug delivery. A critical component of every student’s degree program is active participation in research.
Weill Cornell Medical College Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University’s medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances — including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, and most recently, the world’s first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
NFL Charities NFL Charities is a non-profit organization created by the 32 member clubs of the National Football League to enable the teams to collectively make grants to charitable and worthwhile causes on a national scale. Since its inception, NFL Charities has granted more than $120 million to more than 640 different organizations. NFL Charities’ primary funding categories include: sports-related medical research and education grants; player foundation grants in support of the philanthropic work of current and former NFL players; impact grants to support national youth health and fitness education initiatives as part of a league-wide commitment to fight childhood obesity; financial assistance for former NFL players in need via direct support to the NFL Player Care Foundation; and team program grants that supplement the charitable and community activities of the 32 NFL clubs.
NFL Giving NFL Giving encompasses the many ways that the National Football League, including its clubs, owners and players, strengthen communities nationwide. While representing the NFL’s heritage of community commitment and charitable engagement, NFL Giving encourages long-term health and wellness in communities; fosters community citizenship and philanthropy; advances sports-related medical research and education; and supports the health and well-being of our former NFL players.
In addition to league-wide community support programs as well as charitable dollars allocated by the 32 NFL teams and owners to community initiatives nationwide, several non-profit foundations support the NFL Giving initiative, including NFL Charities, the NFL Youth Football Fund, NFL Disaster Relief Fund and Player Care Foundation.
NFL Charities Board
Commissioner Roger Goodell; Former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; Charlotte Jones Anderson, Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President/Director of Charities; Michael Bidwill, Arizona Cardinals President; Mary Owen, Buffalo Bills Vice President of Strategic Planning; Alan Page, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and Pro Football Hall of Fame Member; Delores Barr Weaver, Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation CEO.
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