Sesamoids are variably present bones located in tendons and ligaments, often near joints. They form in embryonic development in response to both molecular and mechanical (i.e., muscular) cues. As they grow, they function as “pulleys”, redirecting muscle forces and alleviating stresses in the tendons/ligaments.
Some sesamoids, like the kneecap (or patella) are ubiquitous in the human skeleton. Others, like the fabella (in the lateral head of the gastrocnemius, or large calf muscle) are variably present, found in ~35% of human knees. When present, the fabella can cause idiopathic knee pain (i.e., fabella syndrome), is correlated with knee osteoarthritis (with the fabella being twice as prevalent in knees with osteoarthritis compared to healthy knees), and affect knee replacement surgeries, by interacting poorly with the replacement knee.
The job is to analyse developing tissue to understand relationships between skeletal tissues.
QualificationsPhD in Developmental Biology/regenerative medicine related subject
SkillsKnowledge of mammalian anatomy
Experience microtome sectioning and histology staining
Experience immunohistochemistry and RNAscope
Experience working with transgenic mouse lines
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