FAT AS FUEL OR LIABILITY? LIPID HANDLING IN CARTILAGINOUS TISSUES

Joe Kodama. MD, PhD is an orthopedic surgeon-scientist, reshaping how we think about fat in the cartilage, uncovering how lipids can function as potent metabolic fuel or become damaging
burden. His pioneering work in lipid metabolism, growth plate stem cell biology, and intervertebral disc pathology uncovers mechanisms driving skeletal development, degeneration, and repair. By leveraging translational animal models, his work aims to identify therapeutic targets for orthopedic disease.