When
Joshua N. Farr, PhD
Associate Professor (Rheumatology),
the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
The Ethel McChesney Bilby Endowed Chair in Osteoporosis
Dr. Farr joined the University of Arizona's Department of Medicine/Division of Rheumatology and the Arthritis Center in August 2024, after a decade as a research scientist at Mayo Clinic Rochester. He earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at the University of Arizona, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Mayo Clinic.
Now an associate professor of medicine and the Ethel McChesney Bilby Endowed Chair in Osteoporosis, Dr. Farr focuses on cellular aging (senescence) and its role in age-related bone loss. He and his colleagues were the first to show the accumulation of senescent cells in the bone microenvironment with aging. Their research revealed that the pro-inflammatory secretome of these cells increases bone resorption and decreases bone formation, contributing to natural age-related bone loss.
Targeting cellular senescence may offer a novel treatment strategy not only for osteoporosis but also for various age-related conditions. Dr. Farr aims to develop therapeutic strategies to delay, prevent, or partially reverse age-associated diseases, including osteoporosis.