Dr. Frank Beier received his Ph.D in Biology at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg; Germany; in 1995. He is now a Professor in the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology at The University of Western Ontario. Dr. Beier is the current director of the Collaborative Graduate Program in Developmental Biology at The University of Western Ontario. He holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Health; received a Dean's Award of Excellence for Graduate Student Teaching in 2008 and a Faculty Scholar Award in 2009. He was the 2010 Scientist of the Year at the Children's Health Research Institute. Dr. Beier s lab works on the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms that regulate the biology of cartilage cells (chondrocytes) and other skeletal cells; both during development and in osteoarthritis. In this research; the Beier lab uses a combination of gene expression profiling; in-depth studies of identified genes in genetically altered mice and surgical models in mice and rats. Beiers studies are currently funded by CIHR and NIH. Currently he is a member of CIHR and NIH peer review committees; of the Faculty of 1000 and the Editorial Board of PLoS One.