Faculty Profiles

Anna Plaas, PhD

Anna Plaas, PhD. is a professor of Medicine and Biochemistry in Rush Medical College. She received her doctoral degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology at the University of Wales (UK) and completed her post-doctoral training at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London (UK). Prior to joining Rush, she held research faculty positions in the Department of Orthopedics at Brown University, Providence RI, at Shriners Hospital for Children, Tampa, FL and conjointly in the Departments of Internal Medicine and the School of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Her research contributions have been in the area of cartilage matrix biology and the role of physical stimuli in the regulation of joint tissue responses in the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis. The current focus of her laboratory is on the expression of scavenger receptors (Toll Receptors, LOX1, LYVE1 and CD44) and associated signaling pathways by chondrocytes. Her research team utilizes both in vitro (cartilage explant cultures) and in vivo (murine models of knee OA) experimental systems to study these pathways. In addition to biochemical and molecular biological analyses, novel approaches for in vivo localization and live cell imaging of cell receptor-matrix interactions are being developed. Since these scavenger receptors interact with hyaluronan-protein complexes present in injured tissue, hyaluronan-based formulations are being investigated for potential in the treatment of human osteoarthritis.

Dr. Plaas has been the recipient of research funding from NIH, the pharmaceutical industry and non-profit funding agencies. Her current research is supported by the Arthritis Foundation and the Seikagaku Corporation. She has been a co-recipient of the Kappa Delta Award for Outstanding Orthopedic Research and recently received the AOPi Research Award from the National Office of the Arthritis Foundation. She has served on the Editorial Board of Archives of Biochemistry & Biophysics, has been a member of the Program and Nominating Committees of the Orthopedic Research Society, and Chaired the Proteoglycan Gordon Conference in 2004. Her professional memberships include The Orthopedic Research Society and the Osteoarthritis Research Society International.