On April 22nd, 2024 at 3.00 pm the seminar "Endothelin Signaling In Joint Injury, Aging and Disease" will take place at DEIB BIO1 Room (Building 21) and on line by Webex.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent debilitating joint disease affecting over 500 million people worldwide. Unluckily, there is no cure for OA due to poor understanding of its aetiology although multiple systemic and local risk factors have been identified. In this talk, we will revisit vascular aetiology of OA and highlight latest discovery of endothelial senescence in the pathogenesis of OA. It will pave a road towards novel OA therapy targeting vascular endothelium. Also, we will discuss post-COVID vascular damage and arthritis.

Dr. Chunyi WEN, Associate Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering, leads a research group in Hong Kong to combat osteoarthritis, by leveraging cutting edge technologies. Dr. Wen obtained his Ph.D. degree in Chinese University of Hong Kong and received postgraduate training in Johns Hopkins University in U.S., and University of Oxford in U.K.. In his early academic career, Dr. Wen’s work discover the role of TGF-beta1 and endothelin-1 as the key regulators in bone-cartilage functional unit and osteoarthritis pathogenesis (Nature Medicine 2013, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2013/2015/2020). Under the auspices of Hong Kong Research Grant Council, Innovation Technology Fund and Health Medical Research Fund, his current research centres on vascular aetiology of osteoarthritis (Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2017, Arthritis & Rheumatology 2019, Nature Review Rheumatology 2021). Dr. Wen has received a number of local and international awards including TechConnect Global Innovation Award 2021 (U.S.A.), Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards 2022 (U.S.A.). His research has also been translated for the community screening of knee osteoarthritis via a student initiated start-up company, CLAIRE.