Connizzo to Complete Tendon Study with AAUW Grant

Atendon disease study that was slowed when the coronavirus pandemic hit has earned a prestigious American Association of University Women (AAUW) award that will take it over the finish line.

With a goal of developing therapies to treat tendon injury in older adults, Assistant Professor Brianne Connizzo (BME) has for several years been studying the role of inflammation in chronic tendon disease. Using a novel rotator cuff tissue model, Connizzo and colleagues demonstrated that inflammation can cause degradation and cell death in young tendons. But unexpectedly, the explants from aged mice performed better under the same conditions.

Connizzo hoped one more experiment would show how aged tendons can be inflammation resistant. Then the pandemic paused the study. When the researchers could finally return to the lab, they discovered that a freezer had failed, and a critical (and expensive) batch of aged tissue samples had been lost.

Now, with funds from the AAUW, Connizzo can complete the final experiment. The competitive AAUW Research Publication Grant in Engineering, Medicine and Science will allow her team to purchase new samples and hire a grad student to help subject these tendon explants to inflammation and track the cellular responses.

One of the world’s largest sources of funding for female scientists, AAUW and its mission are close to Connizzo’s heart.

“I am committed to the advancement of women in science and engineering,” Connizzo wrote in her proposal. “At a time when research inequity is increasing due to the increased demands placed on women and mothers during the global pandemic, I believe this fellowship will be critical in helping to overcome barriers in my own research and that of the women I hope to inspire.”