Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show Dr. Ross Uhrich, DMD, MBA - Program Manager, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) - Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis (NITRO)
Dr. Ross Uhrich, DMD, MBA, is Program Manager, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health ( ARPA-H - https://arpa-h.gov/people/ross-uhrich/ ), which is focused on advancing high-potential, high-impact biomedical and health research that cannot be readily accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity, accelerating better health outcomes targeting society's most challenging health problems. Under the ARPA-H portfolio, Dr. Uhrich is responsible for the recently launched Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis ( NITRO - https://arpa-h.gov/engage/programs/nitro/ ) program which seeks to develop new ways of helping the human body repair its own joints, with the goal of revolutionizing treatment for osteoarthritis — a common and often very painful condition where bones and cartilage break down. Dr. Uhrich joined ARPA-H in March 2023 from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, where he worked as a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon and assistant professor of surgery. In addition to these roles, he spent 12 years with the U.S. Navy, finishing his tenure as a Lieutenant Commander. Throughout his career, Dr. Uhrich has cared for thousands of members of the U.S. Armed Forces at various healthcare facilities, including the USS Gerald R. Ford , Naval Health Clinic Quantico, and WRNMMC, and served as an oral and maxillofacial surgery consultant to Congress. He also treated patients at Charleston Area Medical Center, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and Suburban Hospital. Dr. Uhrich holds a doctorate in dental medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the University of Virginia, and completed his surgical residency at WRNMMC. He also has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Yale University.