A University of Missouri researcher has won a nearly $2 million National Institutes of Health grant to study new materials which could be used in orthopedic spine surgery. The research will focus on recruiting and turning stem cells into bone cells for the spines of humans, cats and dogs.

Principal Investigator Bret Ulery says this type of therapy would be better than existing spinal fusion techniques which use metal rods, screws and plastics.

“What we're trying to do is actually deliver cues that can cause the body to regenerate the bone tissue itself, whether that's across two vertebrae to kind of create a fused bone, or if it's to enhance and regenerate a osteoporotic fractured bone,” Ulery said.

Ulery said older patients are more likely to have osteoporosis, a weakening of bone tiss

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