UC Research Fellow receives prestigious Neer Award in Basic Science for findings in stem cells’ role in rotator cuff repairs

Medical student Carlin Lee, above, who completed a year-long fellowship in the Feeley-Liu Lab in the UCSF Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, received the 2020 Charles S. Neer Award in Basic Science from the Society of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons. (Photo: UCSF Feeley-Liu Lab)

Carlin Lee, UCSF orthopaedics research team to receive award at society’s annual meeting in spring 2020

SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 18, 2019) -- The Society of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (www.ases-assn.org) announced this week that Carlin Lee, a medical student from UC Irvine and a member of the Feeley-Liu Lab within the UCSF Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, has won the 2020 Charles S. Neer Award in Basic Science for his work in the evaluating stem cell transplantation to improve muscle quality in a mouse model of rotator cuff repairs.

Lee served as first author on a paper, entitled “Beige Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitors Reduce Muscle Degeneration In A Mouse Model Of Delayed Repair For Massive Rotator Cuff Tear,” which was published last month in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

 

Transplanted FAP stem cells (green) help stimulate new muscle growth after a rotator cuff repair. (Photo: UCSF Feeley-Liu Lab) 

The award, which is among the most prestigious prizes for orthopaedic research, will be presented to the entire research team at the annual ASES Open Meeting/Specialty Day on Saturday, March 28, 2020, in Orlando. The team also includes fellow lab members Mengyao Liu and Obiajulu Agha, as well as UCSF faculty and mentors Hubert T. Kim, MD, PhD; Xuhui Liu, MD; and Brian T. Feeley, MD.

"This research presents a promising future to using stem cells to aid patients recovering from rotator cuff tears," said Dr. Feeley, who also serves as section chief of Sports Medicine with the Department. "We applaud Carlin and his collaborators on this important research and on this very well-deserved honor."

The award is named for Charles S. Neer II, MD, a longtime orthopaedic surgeon, who was well-known for his contributions in shoulder surgery and reconstruction at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Neer later founded and became the first president of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons. During his tenure as president, he created a fund – for which the award bears his name -- to recognize outstanding research that contributes to the understanding, care and prevention of injuries to the shoulder and elbow.

Originally from San Francisco, Carlin Lee majored in Biology at UC Irvine, where he is currently completing his medical degree.  He most recently completed a year-long fellowship at UCSF studying the effect of FAP cell transplantation in rotator cuff injury and delayed rotator cuff repair.

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