News
Cih-Li (Amy) Hong Receives Multiple Recognitions at 54th Annual International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH) Meeting
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
At the Annual ISEH meeting held in Kumamoto, Japan, on September 24-27, 2025, Cih-Li (Amy) Hong, DVM, MS – a 3rd year graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Shu-Chi (Allison) Yeh – was recognized with multiple awards. For her 10-minute talk followed by a 30-minute technology discussion panel in the session titled “New Investigatory Technology Session – Latest Advances in Imaging Technologies,” Amy was selected as the recipient of the 2025 ISEH Technology and Travel Grant.
Amy also presented her research titled “Local Bone Remodeling Shapes Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC) - Macrophage Interactions and Compartmentalized HSC Expansion Under Inflammatory Stress.” For her poster and podium presentations on this topic, Amy was awarded the 2025 ISEH PMW Poster Prize for her poster session presentation and First Prize - Connie Eaves Award, a 2025 New Investigator Award, for her 2025 ISEH New Investigator Lecture (10-minute podium presentation with a 3-minute Q&A).
Congratulations, Amy!
CMSR Researchers Identify Potential Biomarker for S. Aureus
Monday, October 27, 2025
CMSR Researchers Identify Potential Biomarker for S. Aureus
S. Aureus is the most common source of dangerous and potentially deadly bone infections; in a paper published in mBio, the flagship journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers at the University of Rochester’s Center for Musculoskeletal Research, led by Dr. Gowri Muthnukrishnan, may have found a biomarker for it in the chemokine CCL20. The study’s numbers tell a striking story about CCL20’s role in bone infections: its levels were detectable in healthy patient serum, spiked fivefold in those who got a bone infection, and remarkably, were 100 times the normal level in those who died of sepsis. Their findings shed important light on ways to track sepsis and help the body’s immune system rally to fight it.
Dr. Edward Schwarz Delivers Lecture at ACR Convergence 2025 Regarding How Synovial Lymphatic System Dysfunction Drives RA Progression
Monday, October 27, 2025
At the recent ACR Convergence 2025 held in Chicago, Illinois, on October 24-29, Dr. Edward Schwarz delivered a state-of-the-art lecture entitled “The Synovial Lymphatic System and Its Dysfunction in Arthritic Progression” during the session Flushing the Joint: Using Lymphatic Drainage to Control Synovial Inflammation. Dr. Schwarz reviewed current knowledge of the synovial lymphatic system and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that impact arthritis progression, including discoveries in his lab that are unlocking the science behind joint drainage, immune regulation, and chronic inflammation.
Click here to read the entire ACR Convergence TODAY article.
Cih-Li (Amy) Hong Receives Wilmot Predoctoral Award
Monday, May 12, 2025
Cih-Li (Amy) Hong, DVM, MS, a CMPP second-year PhD student in Dr. Shu-Chi (Allison) Yeh's lab, has been chosen by the Wilmot Cancer Center to be one of two recipients of this year's Wilmot Predoctoral Cancer Research Fellowship Award. Amy's two-year fellowship, entitled, "Macrophage-Hematopoietic Stem Cell Interaction Regulating Clonal Competition and Progression of Clonal Hematopoiesis", begins on July 1, 2025. As a Wilmot Fellow, Amy will participate in monthly Cancer Microenvironment Program meetings and the Center's annual charity event, Wilmot Warrior Weekend.
The Wilmot Predoctoral Research Fellowship supports graduate students enrolled in PhD training programs at the University of Rochester who are interested in careers in cancer research. The goal of the program is to enable emerging scientists to build an independent career in the investigation of the causes, diagnosis, treatment, prevention or management of cancer or its side effects, under the mentorship of a Wilmot Cancer Institute member. The fellowship was established with the support of local businessman and philanthropist James P. Wilmot through a foundation named in his memory. Awards provide two years of support at $20,000 per year.
Congratulations, Amy! Click here to read about Amy's research.
Researchers Seek New Treatments for a Common Surgical Complication: Abdominal Adhesions
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
University of Rochester researchers Alayna Loiselle, PhD, and Nicole Wilson, PhD, MD, have earned a $3 million grant to investigate a complication that befalls more than half of all abdominal surgery patients: post-operative adhesions that can cause serious and sometimes lifelong health problems.
The grant, from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, will enable Loiselle and Wilson to explore potential new ways to prevent adhesions from forming, and/or develop better treatments. Loiselle is an Associate Professor at UR’s Center for Musculoskeletal Research and the Departments of Orthopaedics & Physical Performance, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering; Wilson is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery, Biomedical Engineering, and Pediatrics. They are co-Principal Investigators on the project.
The new research aims to provide critical insights into the basic causes of abdominal adhesion formation and reduction; define the mechanisms through which S100a4 drives adhesion formation; and establish the potential of S100a4 inhibition to prevent or resolve post-operative abdominal adhesions and adhesion-related small bowel obstructions.
Jennifer Anolik Named Chief of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Division
Monday, January 6, 2025
Internationally renowned physician scientist Jennifer H. Anolik, MD, PhD, was named chief of the Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology (AIR) Division in the Department of Medicine, after serving as interim chief since 2021.
“I am delighted that Jen has agreed to continue leading our AIR division as chief,” said Ruth O’Regan, MD, chair of Medicine. “The division is in great hands under her leadership and will continue to benefit from her experience and expertise as a clinician, educator and researcher. I am extremely grateful to her for serving as interim chair over the past few years.”
A faculty member for 22 years, Anolik also serves as associate chair for research in the Department of Medicine, professor of Medicine, Pathology, and Microbiology and Immunology, and director of the Internal Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program.
Anolik earned her MD and PhD at the University, completed her residency in Internal Medicine in 1999 and her fellowship in Rheumatology in 2002, after which she joined the faculty.
Sarah Catheline Appointed Research Assistant Professor
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Sarah Catheline, Ph.D., has been appointed Research Associate Professor in the CMSR. Dr. Catheline completed her PhD in Pathology in the lab of Dr. Jennifer Jonason, studying the role of inflammation in age-related osteoarthritis pathogenesis. This work earned her an ASBMR Young Investigator Award in 2017. Dr. Catheline then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia under Dr. Maurizio Pacifici, studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the rare childhood skeletal disease Hereditary Multiple Exostoses (HME) before returning to Rochester to work with Dr Roman Eliseev. As a Research Assistant Professor, Dr. Catheline will continue to explore molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial function and bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) differentiation during aging with Dr. Eliseev, while also investigating the bioenergetics of chondrogenesis and osteogenesis during skeletal development.
Please join the CMSR in congratulating Sarah on her faculty appointment!
