Rotator Cuff Research

Project 1: Engineered tendon-fibrocartilage-bone composite for rotator cuff repair and regeneration

Rotator cuff tear is a common musculoskeletal disorder, especially in the aging population. Although surgery is often performed to repair a torn rotator cuff, the clinical outcomes are often not satisfactory because of the high retear rate. Delayed rotator cuff healing is considered a difficulty of tendon-to-bone junction regeneration (enthesis).

In this project, our lab is developing a tissue-engineered tendon-fibrocartilage-bone composite to regenerate enthesis for rotator cuff tears. The overall goal is to develop a stem cell-seeded tendon graft with a chemically modified tendon surface to improve tendon gliding ability and accelerate tendon regeneration. This project has been funded by an NIH R01 grant for more than a decade.

Principal investigator: Chunfeng Zhao, M.D.

Project 2: Purified exosome product for rotator cuff repair and regeneration

In this project, we're developing cell-free exosome biotherapeutics to enhance rotator cuff healing using a rodent acute rotator cuff model. This project is funded by a Regenerative Medicine Minnesota grant.

Principal investigator: Chunfeng Zhao, M.D.