Osteochondral Tissue Engineering
Tissue engineering is a technique that leverages the principles of engineering and the life sciences to develop tissue substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve the function of native tissues. A successful cell-based tissue engineering solution requires a combination of several components, including appropriate cells, an artificial and/or macromolecular scaffold, chemical signals to encourage and maintain cell metabolism and phenotype, and mechanical signals to accelerate and enhance tissue regeneration. Currently we are pursuing a novel approach to develop a tissue engineered osteochondral plug.

Mechanotransduction
Evidence strongly suggests that cells perceive mechanical signals from the extracellular matrix and respond by altering cell morphology and gene expression, however the details of these processes are not well known. We are elucidating the mechanisms of stretch-mediated tissue differentiaton in mesenchymal stem cells. Additionally, we are interested in using computational and analytical models to establish quantitative relationships between the mechanical environment and biologic outcomes.

Damage mechanics of articular cartilage
Osteoarthritis (OA) is an extremely common and debilitating disease that is characterized by fissures and lesions in cartilage, followed by the destruction and loss of cartilage tissue. Evidence suggests that an early event in the progression of the disease is the damage and degradation of the collagenous structure of the superficial zone of articular cartilage. Unfortunately, the characteristics of the collagen network that either enhance or impair its resistance to failure, how these characteristics change with age, and how damage alters the elastic material behavior of the tissue, are unknown.  Therefore, we are studying the cartilage damage behavior and its relationship to the collagen orientation and crosslink density.