Keaven Caro, an MD/PhD student in the Martinelli lab was awarded a position on the T32 Institutional Training Grant in Regenerative Engineering of Musculoskeletal Tissues (NIAMS, AR079114) directed by Dr. Cato Laurencin, University Professor, The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering. The goal of this unique funding is to promote research relevant to musculoskeletal regeneration across multiple fields, and elucidate mechanisms shared across biological systems, by funding students of ethnicities underrepresented in science.

For his project, Keaven is investigating C1QL proteins and their receptor, ADGRB3, which have been implicated in synapse formation/maintenance between neurons, but also myoblast adhesion and fusion during muscle development. Keaven aims to test the hypothesis that these proteins function in a cell-cell adhesion complex by resolving their subcellular localization and testing their function at synapses using molecular genetics.

---