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Please select your level of interest in the following services by the Center for Skeletal Research
Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, BCH, HMS; Affiliate Faculty, Stem Cells & Regenerative Biology; Principal Faculty, Harvard Stem Cell Institute; Co-Director, Musculoskeletal Disease Program, HSCI
Email: april.craft@childrens.harvard.edu Longwood office: (617) 919-4495
Overview
The Craft lab develops and uses directed differentiation protocols for various skeletal and joint lineages from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), including both embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, to study cell and tissue development and disease pathology. Dr. Craft has been trained in the derivation of various mesoderm and endoderm lineages, with a focus on mesoderm-derived chondrocytes, articular and growth plate cartilage tissues, and cardiac lineages, and has new technologies emerging for tendon-ligament fibroblasts. These existing protocols provide access to primitive streak mesoderm, endoderm, as well as paraxial mesoderm and mesenchymal-like progenitors.
Dr. Craft and her lab are available to discuss investigator-driven projects, experimental design, and provide hands-on training for generating working stocks of human iPSCs/ESCs and mouse PSCs, directed differentiations, deriving appropriate culture conditions and media compositions to support novel protocols, and troubleshooting existing protocols. We also have experience with culturing and manipulating primary human skeletal cells (primarily chondrocytes and connective tissue lineages) and mouse embryonic limb bud micromass cultures. Our lab has purchased lot-tested reagents in bulk and we have a supportive infrastructure in place so that variability in PSC differentiations is minimized.
Example Services
Mission of the Working Group:
The working group aims to address a need to support CSR musculoskeletal researchers to expand their studies from their original research toward the understanding of the mechanism of joint diseases, including osteoarthritis, osteoimmunology and joint structure pathology. The working group directors will provide consultative services to CSR members to embark on a pilot project in these specific areas. The services will include identification of scientists with expertise in the area of interest, support for the design of studies to obtain preliminary data (including choice of model systems, specific experimental approaches), advice about potential pitfalls and data interpretation. The working group members will provide a platform to discuss experimental problems, plan for workshops and educational activities in this area.
The expertise of the core directors is as follows:
A consultation with at least one working group director is required prior to the studies being undertaken. Consultations during preparation of the submission are encouraged.
How does the working group work:
The service will be offered in the following ways:
Consultation structure:
Analysis costs
The Program Directors of the Center for Skeletal Research would like your help in thinking about new directions, new areas of emphasis that the Center can consider moving into. Our Center is now about eight years old. While we have introduced a number of new initiatives in the last few years, there is always the danger that we might not be looking at current bone biology with the freshest perspectives. When the Center goes to NIH hoping to renew the grant (or in NIH terminology, apply again for a new grant), we are likely to have some changes in leadership and emphasis, and we want to make changes in the most thoughtful way possible. For this reason we would like to establish a New Directions Committee, with the mission of surveying the field and the capabilities in the Boston area to then come up with suggestions for modifying current cores or establishing completely new cores with new goals. If you would be interested in joining this effort, please let us know by e-mailing CSRmail@partners.org, and we’ll organize next steps.
Center for Musculoskeletal Research
Endocrine Unit
Massachusetts General Hospital
50 Blossom Street, Thier 1101
Boston, MA 02114-2696
Telephone: 617-726-3967
Fax: 617-726-7543
Email: csrmail@partners.org