OREF Highlights

OREF supports the best science and the best researchers, those we identify through our peer review process. In this model, grants are awarded on an unrestricted basis. Complementing that approach is a program of Directed Research funded by industry. Directed Research may study a particular area of orthopaedics that is of interest both to the sponsor and to the OREF Grants Board, yet it may not be company- or product-specific.

With written guidelines and careful review by the Board of Trustees and the Grants Board, OREF ensures that the research is of scientific merit and not subject to influence by the sponsor.

RETURN TO OREF HIGHLIGHTS

"Our research program is designed to address the question of just how bones heal. We focus on this question at the molecular level; that is, which genes are responsible for stimulating the healing response? The answers are oftentimes surprising, and, as we gain a deeper appreciation for the roles that certain proteins, such as Indian hedgehog (Ihh), play in this process of skeletal repair, we lay the groundwork for developing new strategies to accelerate skeletal healing.

The OREF grant provided the impetus to investigate how certain proteins such as Ihh can be used to stimulate vascularization during the process of skeletal repair, and it also set my lab in the direction of understanding more about skeletal development."

Jill A. Helms, D.D.S., Ph.D.
1998 Directed Research Grant Recipient
Howmedica sponsored Dr. Helms' Directed Research Grant