Niccolo Fiorentino, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering and orthopaedics & rehabilitation, recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early-Career Development Program award, a prestigious grant that supports researchers who are early in their careers and undertaking new impactful projects.

Fiorentino examines risk factors for knee injuries and the body’s response at various stages after an injury. The NSF grant provides $624,000 to support Fiorentino’s ongoing research on the relationship between cartilage microstructure and the risk of a joint developing future musculoskeletal diseases, such as osteoarthritis, a condition marked by the loss of cartilage. Once this loss begins, there are no treatments to reverse the damage, and many osteoarthritis patients endure the pain until its severity necessitates a joint replacement. An estimated one million knee and hip replacements are completed each year. Fiorentino’s investigation aims to advance the field of cartilage biomechanics by quantifying microstructure and function across different age groups and varying degrees of joint health.

Fiorentino additionally leads the Musculoskeletal Imaging and Orthopaedic Biomechanics (MIOB) Laboratory at the Larner College of Medicine. Investigators in the MIOB Lab use the latest imaging technology and research to improve human health and performance for people suffering from musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions.

Research like this has contributed to the University of Vermont’s designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an R1 institution, placing it in the top tier of research universities in the U.S.