Rocky Tuan will lead a $1.2M grant project to create the 'joint-on-a-chip'

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $1.2 million grant to a multi-institutional project led by the University of Pittsburgh to engineer a three dimensional joint-on-a-chip called the “microJoint.” The microJoint will replicate a human joint on a small scale and be used to study and test drugs for the treatment of arthritic joint diseases. 

“We’re building what will be the first joint-on-a-chip that we hope will accurately replicate arthritic diseases in humans, and thus allow in-depth understanding of the disease process that will lead to discovery of potential therapies,” said principal investigator Rocky Tuan, director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering, and distinguished professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Pitt's School of Medicine.