Puleo is one of 27 national recipients of a biomedical engineering research grant from the Whitaker Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation that focuses on how engineering can improve medical care.
Joint replacements help thousands more people regain mobility.
In 10 percent of cases, however, the replacement fails, often because of loosening. David Puleo, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, conducts research into improving the security of implants. Puleo is one of 27 national recipients of a biomedical engineering research grant from the Whitaker Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation that focuses on how engineering can improve medical care. More specifically, we hope to introduce methods for modulated delivery of bone growth factors to the tissue-implant interface. Growth factors, which are proteins that stimulate cell division or differentiation, may help accelerate or enhance formation of bone around implants.