Arthritis Society Canada recognizes Dr. Nikolas Knowles for promising osteoarthritis research

Dr. Nikolas Knowles, a researcher in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, has received a Stars Career Development Award from Arthritis Society Canada in recognition of his research on improving early detection and treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis (OA).

The Stars Career Development Awards offer robust support for the early career progression of promising researchers in the arthritis community. The program rewards emerging academics with a three-year funding commitment of $375,000, matched with an additional three years of funding by the researcher’s host institution.

“Shoulder osteoarthritis is poorly understood, primarily due to the large variation in symptoms at early disease stages, and a lack of knowledge among biomechanical and imaging features across stages of the disease,” said Knowles.

“Recent advances in biomechanical and imaging technologies now allow for significant advancements to early disease characteristics that may allow for improved diagnosis and early treatment before reaching end-stage. My research will use these technologies and OA knowledge to provide strategies to significantly improve healthy pain-free years for individuals across the spectrum of shoulder OA, from at risk-populations, to those with established OA.”

Knowles, who joined the University in 2022, also received a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) this past August.