From left, Zsofia Torok, Ph.D.; Ashutosh Parajuli, Ph.D.; and Alexander Murphy, M.D., have been selected as 2025–26 fellows of the UCSF Musculoskeletal Training Program (T32). Supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the program trains postdoctoral scholars and resident physicians to advance research in musculoskeletal science.
Trainees join UCSF’s NIH-funded T32 program to advance research in bone health, fracture repair, and gene therapy
SAN FRANCISCO (July 22, 2025) — The UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the UCSF MSK Center are pleased to introduce the UCSF Musculoskeletal Training Program’s fellows for the 2025–26 academic year:
Zsofia Torok, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral scholar, cellular and molecular pharmacology
Project: “Identifying Sex-Specific Pathways of Hypothalamic-Ventricular Crosstalk in Bone Homeostasis”
Mentor: Holly A. Ingraham, Ph.D.
Ashutosh Parajuli, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral scholar, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, San Francisco VA Medical Center
Project: “A Multi-Omics Framework Reveals a Muscle-Derived Progenitor Axis in Abaloparatide-Accelerated Fracture Repair”
Mentor: Daniel Bikle, M.D., Ph.D.
Alexander Murphy, M.D.
PGY-4 resident, plastic surgery
Project: “Lipid Nanoparticles as Gene Therapy Vectors for Treatment of Apert Syndrome”
Mentor: Jason Pomerantz, M.D.
About the T32 Training Program
The Musculoskeletal Center’s Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grant (T32) aims to address the widespread impact of musculoskeletal diseases, which affect more than half of the U.S. population age 18 and older, and nearly three-quarters of those 65 and older. The underlying causes of these debilitating conditions remain poorly understood.
The MSK Center’s $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases supports the training of basic and clinical scientists to conduct research into the causes, treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal diseases.
Now in the second year of its five-year cycle, the program funds research training and career development for a total of 11 postdoctoral fellows and resident physicians for up to two years.
“We are grateful to the NIH and NIAMS for their continued support,” said Aaron Fields, Ph.D., director of the MSK Training Program. “This grant will enable us to pursue our mission of preparing postdocs and residents for a lifetime of scholarly pursuits that lead to in-depth understanding and improved care for patients with musculoskeletal diseases.”
