Dr. Roger Härtl Shares a $100,000 NFL Research Grant for Pioneering Work on Artificial Disc
Dr. Roger Härtl, Director of Spinal Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Dr. Larry Bonassar, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University, were awarded a $100,000 NFL Charities research grant honoring their collaborative groundbreaking work on tissue engineering for spinal disc degeneration. Dr. Bonassar's laboratory engineers intevertebral discs from sheep cells that grow, mature, and multiply on a natural mold to re-create a fully functional, implantable disc. Dr. Härtl tests the discs by developing techniques for implanting them into the spines of animals with disc degeneration. Promising earlier work showed that engineered discs planted into healthy animals were able to maintain the appropriate pressure and support after 1 year. It is hoped that human trials can begin in approximately 5 years.
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