The findings, published in Nature in 2018, have propelled Dr.

Debnath’s work has identified the cellular basis of the two fundamental pathways of bone formation. Debnath discovered is specialized for the direct formation of bone without cartilage when compared with the stem cells present inside the bone that mediates bone formation through a cartilage template. It had been known that bone forms via two distinct processes, one in which bone forms via a cartilage template that remodels into bone (endochondral bone formation) and one where a bone forms directly without a cartilage template (intramembranous bone formation). Debnath found that the periosteal stem cells mediate distinct type of bone formation when compared with skeletal stem cells present inside the bone. These periosteal stem cells are required for normal bone formation by the periosteum and overall skeletal biomechanical strength in addition to fracture healing. Using a combination of 16-18 color flow cytometry that separates different cell types based on the types of proteins present on their cell surface, various transplantation models, genetic mouse models and single cell RNA sequencing, she was able to identify a type of stem cell that originates on the bone’s outer surface, called the periosteum.

Matthew Greenblatt, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, focuses on bone biology, specifically skeletal stem cells. “I feel very deeply honored and happy to join my fellow peers from the other institutions.”ĭr. “I'm very thankful to the selection committee for giving me this prestigious award,” Dr.

Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and The Rockefeller University jointly present the awards annually to up to six exceptional investigators–at least one from each institution. Shawon Debnath, a research associate in pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been honored with a 2023 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award for Junior Investigators.

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