Chitra Dahia, PhD, received two National Institutes of Health grants totalling $6 million for research focusing on disc degeneration and chronic back pain.
Dr. Dahia, a scientist at New York City-based Hospital For Special Surgery, is studying the potential of two developmental molecules in the reversal of age-related intervertebral disc pathologies and the treatment of chronic back pain, according to a Nov. 11 news release.
The first five-year grant is for $2.8 million and is from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. The funds will support research into the role of the Brachyury molecule in disc pathology.
She also received a five-year grant from the National Institute of Aging for $3.3 million. That money will support research about the role of developmental signaling pathways in the maintenance of spinal discs.