Brittany Taylor, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida, has been selected for a prestigious K12 Career Development Award, supported through the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) recently granted to UF and Florida State University. The CTSA grant, publicly announced this week, provides $43 million over seven years to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into real-world health solutions and strengthen Florida’s role as a leading hub for clinical and translational research.
The K12 program specifically supports the development of early-career investigators working at the interface of engineering, medicine and translational science.
Targeting the Roots of Chronic Tendon Pain
Chronic tendon pain is a widespread musculoskeletal condition that affects millions of people across all ages, limiting mobility, impairing function and diminishing overall quality of life. For many patients, disabling pain intensifies with activity and can persist even after surgical repair, impacting up to 50% of individuals who undergo procedures such as rotator cuff repair. These challenges often hinder rehabilitation and slow recovery.
Despite its prevalence, the underlying mechanisms of chronic tendon pain remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that increased sensory nerve ingrowth into normally aneural tendon tissue may play a critical role in tendinopathy and post-surgical pain. However, definitive evidence linking nerve presence, pain signaling and long-term healing outcomes is still lacking.
Building on these findings, Taylor’s K12-supported research will investigate how sensory and parasympathetic neuronal mediators contribute to tendon pathology, pre- and post-surgical pain, and functional recovery. By analyzing human tendon tissue collected from patients undergoing rotator cuff surgery and pairing these clinical samples with controlled preclinical models, her work will map how nerve innervation changes during injury and healing.
The goal is to generate a clearer understanding of the biological drivers of tendon pain—knowledge that could ultimately guide the development of more effective, targeted therapies for patients. By bridging clinical insight with mechanistic studies, Taylor’s project advances the CTSA mission to move scientific discoveries from bench to bedside and improve health outcomes across patient populations.