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Steps Towards OA Prevention

Award Number: K01AR082421
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS & MUSCULOSKELETAL & SKIN DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2028

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Steps Towards OA Prevention - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability. Identifying modifiable mechanisms of poor knee joint health development for disease prevention strategies are critical to improving long-term health. Aberrant mechanical loading has been theorized as a primary risk factor for knee OA. Most studies primarily focus on mechanical mechanisms of excessive joint loading in OA development. However, recent evidence suggests that joint underloading may also play a role. The effects of low loading frequency assessed via daily steps in real world settings on knee joint health is an understudied parameter of aberrant mechanical loading in individuals at risk for OA. Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury who undergo ACL reconstruction (ACLR) surgery are a representative population to assess the effects of low loading frequency on knee joint health because they are at elevated risk for posttraumatic OA development and demonstrate low daily steps compared to uninjured individuals. Therefore, the overall study objective is to determine the mechanistic links between joint loading frequency and comprehensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of knee joint cartilage health in individuals post-ACLR. The central hypothesis is that individuals post-ACLR who take low daily steps will demonstrate deconditioned, less resilient cartilage characterized by poor tibiofemoral cartilage composition and greater cartilage strain which represent equally important, but independent measures of cartilage health. Furthermore, increasing daily steps using a 16-week daily step promotion paradigm in individuals post-ACLR who underload (<7000 daily steps which is predictive of physical inactivity) will recondition cartilage by improving tibiofemoral cartilage composition and strain. The proposed study aims to determine: 1) associations between daily steps with tibiofemoral cartilage composition and strain in ACLR individuals (n=56) using an observational cross-sectional study design, and 2) the effects of increasing daily steps over 16-weeks on tibiofemoral cartilage composition and strain in ACLR individuals with low daily steps (n=28) using a single arm, longitudinal pre-test post-test study design. The proposed study is innovative because it builds on observational studies linking underloading with poor knee joint health and will be the first study to mechanistically determine how altering loading frequency (i.e., increasing daily steps) affects comprehensive in vivo measures of cartilage health in individuals at risk for OA. Successful completion of the proposed study will provide foundational evidence for the development of a future randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of an adaptive daily step promotion intervention to reduce the risk of OA development in high-risk individuals. The proposed K01 Career Development Award will provide the investigator with protected time to advance analysis and interpretation of MRI measures of cartilage biology and mechanics as well as develop skills in clinical trial implementation. The comprehensive training plan is vital to the investigator’s long-term career development in establishing an independent research line to develop novel interventions for OA prevention and promote long-term quality of life.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $121,473 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research	000	3	7/10/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$121,473
														Subtotal = $121,473

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $121,473 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research	000	2	8/2/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$121,473
														Subtotal = $121,473

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $120,853 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research	000	1	8/14/2023	NEW	$120,853
														Subtotal = $120,853

Grand Total All Awards = $363,799

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Steps Towards OA Prevention

Award Number: K01AR082421

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS & MUSCULOSKELETAL & SKIN DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2028

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