Research Associate, Division of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery

Email: vp353@cam.ac.uk

Research interests

I have always been deeply interested in the mechanisms that regulate cell differentiation and the development of cartilage. During my PhD studies, I discovered the cell of origin and the genetic mechanism by which Osteochondroma, a benign bone tumour, develops. I am particularly interested in understanding how stem cells differentiate into chondrocytes and then bone cells, and I will use the knowledge of different processes of development and molecular biology I acquired, to understand the in vivo processes that regulate degeneration and also to investigate a potential source for cartilage and bone regeneration.

Key publications

Piombo V, Jones KB , Searby C, Kurriger G, Yang B, Grabellus F, Roughley PJ, Morcuende JA, Buckwalter JA, Capecchi MR, Vortkamp A, Sheffield VC. (2010) A mouse model of osteochondromagenesis from clonal inactivation of Ext1 in chondrocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Feb 2;107 (5);2054-9.

Akawi N, McRae J, Ansari M, Balasubramanian M, Blyth M, Brady AF, Clayton S, Cole T, Deshpande C, Fitzgerald TW, Foulds N, Francis R, Gabriel G, Gerety SS, Goodship J, Hobson E, Jones WD, Joss S, King D, Klena N, Kumar A, Lees M, Lelliott C, Lord J, McMullan D, O’Regan M, Osio D, Piombo V, Prigmore E, Rajan D, Rosser E, Sifrim A, Smith A, Swaminathan GJ, Turnpenny P, Whitworth J, Wright CF, Firth HV, Barrett JC, Lo CW, FitzPatrick DR, Hurles ME, DDD Study ( 2015) Discovery of four recessive developmental disorders using probabilistic genotype and phenotype matching among 4,125 families. Nat Genet. 2015 Oct 5. doi: 10.1038/ng.3410

Areas of expertise

Growth plate, chondrocytes, bone, osteoarthritis, articular cartilage, developmental biology, molecular biology, genetics, in vitro and in vivo models for human diseases