Arthritis causes cartilage to degenerate, in turn leading to chronic pain, osteoarthritis and mobility loss. The problem is that cartilage doesn't regenerate naturally. The award will allow Professor Hoemann to apply a new approach to her tissue engineering research: in situ regenerative medicine, an innovative process that stimulates wound repair on the actual site of the lesion. The method under development by Dr. Hoemann uses an implant to trigger a local therapeutic response that ultimately revascularizes and regenerates the joint cartilage -- a solution of potential interest to arthritis sufferers. "Regenerative medicine," said Professor Hoemann, "entails optimizing implants and surgical techniques to incite bone marrow stromal cell migration to the lesion."

For many who have arthritis, a clinical solution of this kind may mean the difference between living with pain on a day-to-day basis and being able to lead an active life. Given the length of time it can take to bring scientific discoveries into the mainstream, the grant represents a considerable boon to Professor Hoemann.

Professor Caroline Hoemann with some of her team members
Left to right : Marianne Ariganello (student), Maxime Desgagnés (student), Professor Hoemann, David Fong (student), Jun Sun (research associate)

Polytechnique congratulates Professor Hoemann on her accomplishments and wishes her the best of luck with her research!