Alicia Bertone

Alicia L. Bertone is an American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon. She is a Vice-Provost of Graduate Studies and holds the ENGIE-Axium Endowed Dean's Chair of the Graduate School at the Ohio State University.^[1] Bertone is a Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and, as the Trueman Endowed Chair, established and directed the Comparative Orthopedic Research Laboratory at the University.^[2]

Focusing clinically on orthopedic surgery, Bertone has published over 185 research papers regarding comparative orthopedic medicine, regenerative medicine, and gene therapy for the treatment of cartilage injury and bone repair. She is affiliated with Comparative Orthopedic Research Laboratory which focuses on the progressive translation of basic science in the area of molecular engineering, cell therapy, ortho-biologic therapies, as well as preclinical and clinical large animal models of regenerative orthopedics. She designed and patented the first commercial equine microarray.^[3] Bertone is associated with Orthopaedic Research Society and made Panel Contributions to Pfizer Global Research and Development, European Veterinary Orthopedic Society, and British Equine Veterinary Association.^[4][5]

Bertone is a Board Member of the Orthopedic Foundation^[4] and is an active member of Ohio State and CVM research initiatives, such as founder of the Consortium for the Advancement of Neuromusculoskeletal Science and Locomotion.^[5]

Education[]

Bertone started her initial education in the Fine Arts at the School of American Ballet in New York and later transitioned to the sciences. She studied at Cornell University and received her B.S. degree in Life Sciences with Honors, and her D.V.M degree, in 1977 and 1982, respectively. She was then enrolled at Colorado State University where she completed her M.S. degree in Pathology in 1986, and her Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Sciences the following year.^[6] In 2001, Bertone completed an NIH Fellowship at Harvard in Gene Therapy from the Center for Molecular Orthopaedics.^[1]

Career[]

Following her doctoral studies, Bertone taught briefly at Louisiana State University as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences before joining Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989 as an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1993, and became a Professor in 1997. She is also associated with the University's Department of Orthopedics as an Adjunct Professor.^[2]

Bertone has also held several administrative and clinical appointments. At Ohio State University, she was appointed as the Trueman Family Endowed Chair at College of Veterinary Medicine for two consecutive terms.^[7] From 2007 till 2013, she directed the Industry Research at OSU Sports Medicine Center, and was appointed as Chair of the Post-professional Education Committee in 2011.^[1]

Bertone was elected to the President's & Provost's Leadership Institute in 2017.^[8] She is a Vice-Provost of Graduate Studies. Bertone also holds the ENGIE-Axium Endowed Dean's Chair.^[1]

Bertone served as a member of Board of Regents for American College of Veterinary Surgery from 2008 till 2011, and is a Veterinary Delegate for the Federation Equestrian Internationale since 2013.^[1]

Research[]

Bertone specializes in equine orthopedics, sports medicine and the science of orthopedic regenerative medicine. She has published over 185 research papers regarding comparative orthopedic medicine, regenerative medicine, and gene therapy for the treatment of cartilage injury and bone repair.^[3]

Gene and stem cell therapy for bone repair and cartilage injury[]

Bertone along with her Ph.D. students, studied the use of genetically-engineered synovial transplants to induce a local anabolic effect on cartilage healing in vitro and in vivo. This approach is readily translatable to an arthroscopic delivery.^[9] She and her colleagues, studied a pharmacologic approach to reduction of bone pain and inflammation at the cellular and immunological level.^[10] Bertone also discovered low percentage of genetically-engineered cells needed for robust cartilage generation.^[11]

Bertone studied the healing of rabbit bilateral ulnar osteotomies after surgery, in response to percutaneous injection of transgenic adenoviral (Ad) bone morphogenetic protein‐6 (BMP‐6) vector. She found BMP‐6 to be osteo-inductive in vivo resulting in acceleration of bone repair.^[12] She conducted a study to investigate the feasibility of osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells using two BMP genes and 3D alginate culture systems. Her research indicated that transduction of BMDMSC with bone morphogenetic proteins‐2 or ‐6 can accelerate osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of stem cells in culture.^[13] She also achieved the repair of articular fractures in vivo using direct stem cell injection transduced with BMP-2,^[14] however, the treatment was found to be insufficient to provide long-term quality osteochondral repair.^[15]

Joint disease[]

Bertone published a clinical trial which served as a landmark paper reporting the high bar for FDA regulatory standards in veterinary medicine.^[16] She investigated the joint, lymphnode, and PBMC response to non-autologous joint injections of non-engineered and engineered stem cells.^[17] In 2007, Bertone published one of the first papers to show that molecularly engineered stem cells could regenerate cartilage in vivo.^[14] She also completed clinical trials of autologous cell and platelet therapy in both dogs and horses.^[18][19]

Bertone studied the response of equine joint after a repetitive injury and the rest period along with the physiological processes involved in the repairing of the damage. She highlighted the changes and complex interactions within the joint during the inflammatory process, and the available therapeutic modalities.^[20] She conducted study to evaluate various synovial fluid cytokines and eicosanoids for the diagnosis of joint disease and categories of joint disease. She found interleukin‐6 to be an efficient screening test for the presence of joint disease when lameness is difficult to identify.^[21] Bertone conducted randomized controlled clinical trials to compare efficacy of firocoxib and phenylbutazone paste formulations in horses with osteoarthritis, and found comparable efficacies of both drugs.^[22] She published a paper in early 2010s regarding the reduction in interleukin-1β (IL-1β) signaling by RNA interference-based transcript reduction and receptor blockade method, and the quantification of changes incurred on transcript expression of additional mediators. She provided evidence for the in vivo role of IL-1β in spontaneous osteoarthritis.^[23]

Awards/honors[]

• 2004 - Pfizer Research Award, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
• 2014 - Charles C. Capen Teaching Excellence Award for Graduate Education, OSUCVM^[24]
• 2017 - President's and Provost's Advisory Council on Women, The Ohio State University^[8]

Bibliography[]

• Palmer, Jan L.; Bertone, Alicia L. (July 1994). "Joint structure, biochemistry and biochemical disequilibrium in synovitis and equine joint disease". Equine Veterinary Journal. 26 (4): 263–277. doi:10.1111/j.2042-3306.1994.tb04386.x. PMID 8575393.
• Bertone, A. L.; Palmer, J. L.; Jones, J. (December 2001). "Synovial fluid cytokines and eicosanoids as markers of joint disease in horses". Veterinary Surgery. 30 (6): 528–538. doi:10.1053/jvet.2001.28430. PMID 11704948.
• Waselau, Martin; Sutter, W. Wesley; Genovese, Ronald L.; Bertone, Alicia L. (15 May 2008). "Intralesional injection of platelet-rich plasma followed by controlled exercise for treatment of midbody suspensory ligament desmitis in Standardbred racehorses". Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 232 (10): 1515–1520. doi:10.2460/javma.232.10.1515. PMID 18479242.
• Santangelo, K.S.; Nuovo, G.J.; Bertone, A.L. (December 2012). "In vivo reduction or blockade of interleukin-1β in primary osteoarthritis influences expression of mediators implicated in pathogenesis". Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 20 (12): 1610–1618. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2012.08.011. PMC 3478416. PMID 22935786.

References[]