Rebekah S. Decker obtained her PhD in Veterinary Science at the University of Kentucky, where she utilized the axolotl salamander as a novel vertebrate model for articular cartilage maturation and repair. She was later awarded an individual NIH Kirschstein Post-Doctoral Fellowship to study in The Translational Research Program in Pediatric Orthopaedics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Decker’s research at CHOP investigated developmental mechanisms guiding articular cartilage morphogenesis during development and after injury. She was recognized as an Outstanding Young Investigator by the Osteoarthritis Research Society International in 2013 and 2014. In late 2016, Dr. Decker started a new position as an Investigator at The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation in La Jolla, CA. As part of the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, she currently focuses on basic science and preclinical drug discovery in musculoskeletal regenerative medicine. In 2018 Dr. Decker was selected as a travelling research fellow for The International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society/ Orthoregeneration Network basic science fellowship program in Asia.
