( e bone damaged cartilage even in a he...)Gene therapy converts dead bone graft to new, living tissue

"It's a steeper challenge that would require additional technology such as light-activated gene therapy (LAGT) to site-specifically target the genes to the edge of the damaged cartilage during arthroscopic surgery, but we're looking to use the same idea of triggering the cartilage to remake itself."

Schwarz's work on bone revitalization and LAGT has just been recognized as one of the most important discoveries of the year by the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). Next week the ORS will honor Schwarz with one of the most prestigious awards in orthopedics, the 2005 Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award. The honor carries with it a grant for $20,000 to help expand his research.

Schwarz is also founder and president of the Rochester-based biotechnology company LAGeT, a company Schwarz spun off from his university research. The firm seeks to commercialize Schwarz's research findings on light-activated gene therapy and has licensed the technology from the university.

Also taking part from the University of Rochester were Hiromu Ito, Mette Koefoed, Prarop Tiyapatanaputi, Kirill Gromov, J. Jeffrey Goater, Jonathan Carmouche, Xinping Zhang, Paul T. Rubery, Regis J. O'Keefe, and Brendan F. Boyce. Other authors include Joseph Rabinowitz and R. Jude Samulski of the University of North Carolina; Takashi Nakamura of Kyoto University in Japan; and Kjeld Soballe of University Hospital of Aarhus in Denmark. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation, and the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation.