Cartilage Mechanobiology

Studies in the Laboratory are focused on specific cell-matrix interactions in controlling cellular synthesis and phenotype that may contribute to pathology in intervertebral disc degeneration. Systems that mechanically load isolated cells, cell-gel constructs and tissues in vitro are used, along with highly resolved visualization systems, to determine the means by which cells interact with their local environment. Modern techniques in molecular and cell biology are used in combination with engineering analysis to determine unique phenotypic markers of intervertebral disc cells for the purposes of stem cell differentiation and cell therapy in treating intervertebral disc pathology. The laboratory collaborates with rheumatologists, orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, and biomedical engineers in these studies supported by the NIH.

Regenerative Medicine

Work in the Laboratory is focused on the development and evaluation of novel biomaterials that can be used for drug delivery applications and as cell-delivery scaffolds in both orthopaedics and neurosurgery. Recent work has focused on in situ forming or crosslinking hydrogels formed from natural extracellular matrix molecules and polymers. The laboratory collaborates with rheumatologists, orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists to evaluate the feasibility of drug delivery strategies to inhibit joint inflammation and pain associated with both osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc pathologies. State-of-the-art imaging and gait analysis is used to develop biomarkers of pathology and to determine procedural outcomes. In addition, the Laboratory collaborates with chemists, surgeons and materials scientists to evaluate scaffolds that assist in functional tissue repair. A key component of this work is the development of rational biomaterial design strategies using statistical and machine learning algorithms, in a collaboration with mathematicians at North Carolina State University . This work is supported by the NIH and North Carolina Biotechnology Center.