Ron June
Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering,
College of Engineering, Montana State University
Ron June
Speaker: Ron June, Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering
Date: Friday, February 12, 2016
Time: 4:10 PM
Place: Procrastinator Theater, Strand Union Building
Toward Understanding Energy Usage to Improve Osteoarthritis
Summary:
Osteoarthritis is a debilitating joint disease that affects more than 50 million Americans. Typically, patients experience pain in joints such as the knees and hips. During the disease, the cartilage in the joints deteriorates. Unfortunately, the best solution is surgical joint replacement which is both expensive and unavailable to many patients. This seminar will focus on how cartilage and the cells of cartilage respond to mechanical loading, with a focus on energy metabolism. The long term goal of this research is to use therapeutic loading, such as walking, in conjunction with new drugs that target energy metabolism to improve joint health.
About the speaker:
Ron June's MSU lab researches osteoarthritis, which is an aging-related disease in which cartilage deteriorates resulting in painful joints and decreased mobility. Our long term goal is to develop novel treatment strategies which utilize protein transduction and build upon developed knowledge involving chondrocyte mechanotransduction. The lab studies cellular mechanotransduction, or how cells respond to mechanical cues, and synovial joint drug delivery, specifically a bioactive intraarticular delivery platform. The lab's long-term goal is to develop novel treatment strategies that use protein transduction and build upon what we know about how cartilage cells respond to mechanical loads caused by forces, such as gravity, and activities, such as walking.
Ron June was the recipient of a 2015 Kopriva MSU Faculty Lectureship from the College of Letters and Science.