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Connective Tissue Research Group

The Connective Tissue Research Group, a Tennessee Center of Excellence, is a comprehensive center for basic clinical and translational research, education and training and community outreach for the State of Tennessee in diseases affecting the joints, cartilage, skeleton and connective tissues of the body.

The categories of disease the center addresses include classic arthritis associated immune based rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatic fever), degenerative joint disease including the intervertebral discs, osteoporosis, scleroderma and related fibrosing diseases.

Components groups study etiologic and pathogenetic mechanisms of these diseases using of animal models and in vitro cell culture systems, development of new diagnostic tests and develop new therapies and prosthetics to treat these diseases. The center is also a hub for education and training of pre- and post-doctoral fellows in the arthritides and related diseases and has outreach programs to better educate private physicians in Tennessee and the public about arthritis, bone, joint and connective tissue diseases.

Research Trials

Click the links below to view the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored research trials involving patients with rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma:

Principal Investigators

  • David Brand, PhD
  • Monica L. Brown, DO
  • Hongbo Chi, PhD
  • Weikuan Gu, PhD
  • Karen Hasty, PhD
  • Andrew H. Kang, MD
  • Linda K. Myers, MD
  • Eugene Pinkhassik, PhD
  • Arnold Postlethwaite, MD
  • Edward Rosloniec, PhD
  • Andrzej Slominski, MD, PhD
  • John Stuart, MD
  • Ae-Kyeung Yi, PhD
May 26, 2022