The Arthritis Foundation’s Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial Network (OACTN) is composed of clinical sites led by world-renowned OA investigators with focuses in musculoskeletal MRI, orthopedic surgery, rheumatology, and sports medicine.
Members work to generate standard protocols/techniques to unify and accelerate collaborative work within the network and the broader OA scientific community.
The purpose of the Clinical Trial Units is to provide the infrastructure needed to perform future OA clinical trials that will be conducted through the OACTN. The new grant award will be used to establish the UNC Chapel Hill Collaborative CTU for Musculoskeletal Health.
Joe Hart, PhD, is a Professor and Vice-Chair for Research in the UNC Department of Orthopedics. Brian Pietrosimone, PhD, is a Professor of Exercise and Sport Science. Co-investigators for this project are Richard Loeser, MD, Director of the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center and the Joseph P. Archie, Jr. Eminent Professor of Medicine; and Jeff Spang, PhD, Associate Professor of Orthopedics.