Marc Wein and benefactor Tara Ciongoli
Principal Investigator, Endocrine Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Ara Nazarian, PhD
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Using SIK Inhibitors to Stimulate Bone Regeneration and Repair Fractures
Poor fracture healing is a major problem for patients with large traumatic bone defects. Currently, there are no FDA-approved medical therapies to stimulate fracture healing in this setting. Wein’s team recently identified a new, orally-available small molecule drug that stimulates bone regeneration and promotes healing of noncritical fractures in mice.
With Stepping Strong funding, a multidisciplinary team involving scientists with expertise in bone cell biology, skeletal biomechanics, orthopedic surgery, single cell genomics, and medicinal chemistry will test and understand the effects of this new drug in traumatic fracture repair in rats. In addition, team members will synthesize a new version of this drug that is targeted directly to bone for enhanced action with reduced side effects. These studies will lay the groundwork for new therapies to improve the treatment and recovery of individuals with traumatic injury.
Marc Wein, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His NIH-funded laboratory is based in the Endocrine Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Wein is an endocrinologist who studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control skeletal biology. His work leverages cutting-edge technologies in molecular cell biology, genome editing, genetically-modified mice, chemical biology, and single cell genomics to approach important biomedical problems in bone and mineral metabolism. Wein received his MD and PhD from Harvard Medical School and completed his clinical training in internal medicine and endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has received awards from the American Society of Clinical Investigators, the American Society of Bone Mineral Research, and the Harrington Discovery Institute.