Rahul Gawri
Assistant Professor
MD, PhD
Fellowships:
- The Arthritis Society and NSERC Post-doctoral Fellowship, IBBME, University of Toronto, Canada (2014-2018).
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, McKay Orthopaedics Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania, USA (2018-2020).
Awards:
- Eugene Rogola Award, Department of Orthopaedics, McGill University
- Dr. Akerley Medical Research Award, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University
- McGill MedStar Award, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University
My research focuses on fracture healing using the body’s immune cells, such as mast cells, and devising strategies for faster and more effective repair. I also conduct research on bioenergetics and energy utilization by cells that generally have a limited nutrient supply, such as intervertebral disc cells and cells at the site of fracture healing. The overall goal of this research is to utilize innate mechanisms and energy modulation to devise effective tissue engineering therapies.
Rahul finished his medical training at a top tier institute in India. Rahul joined McGill University to pursue a Ph.D. in Experimental Surgery with a focus on tissue engineering and bioactive compounds. During his doctoral studies, Rahul also did research stints as a Visiting Scientist with Synthes USA, Universitet Lund, Sweden and AO Research Institute, Switzerland. Thereon, Rahul moved to University of Toronto to pursue his first post-doctoral fellowship in the field of arthritis and cartilage regeneration and was funded by The Arthritis Society of Canada (TAS) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). At University of Toronto, Rahul worked on inorganic polyphosphates and their mechanism of action in chondrocytes and intervertebral disc cells. To gain expertise on mitochondrial dysfunctions and orphan diseases and for that he moved to the University of Pennsylvania and joined the prestigious McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratories as senior post-doctoral scientist. He was also an affiliate scientist with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia. Rahul investigated Mucopolysaccharidoses, a group of genetically inherited lysosomal diseases with a strong musculoskeletal involvement. In addition to finding biomarkers for the disease and developing rapid imaging modalities, Rahul was also a co-investigator for a clinical study involving patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis. Rahul is currently an Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, McGill University and a scientist with RI-MUHC. Through his lab at McGill, Rahul intends to further enhance his knowledge and contribute to the field of musculoskeletal research.