We are excited to begin studies, with support from a 2-year R21 grant from NIH-NIAMS, to identify how IGF-1 mimetic peptides can support the ability of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells to augment repair and dampen inflammation in the intervertebral disc. These studies will leverage our long-standing collaboration with Drs. Lori Setton (WashU BME) and Munish Gupta (WashU Orthpaedic Surgery).