Biography

B.S. 1995, Fudan University, P.R. China
Ph.D. 1999, Michigan State University
Postdoctoral Fellow 1999-2002, University of California Berkeley & Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Staff Scientist 2002-2006, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Research Interests

With an aging population, the demand for synthetic tissue scaffolds assisting the regenerative reconstruction of skeletal defects resulting from trauma, cancer and metabolic diseases is rising. Our lab is interested in 1) developing new biomaterial- and stem cell-based approaches towards bone and cartilage tissue regeneration, particularly dealing with hard-to-heal tissue defects resulting from aging, diabetes, and traumatic injuries; 2) identifying novel factors regulating stem cell renewal and skeletal tissue regeneration; 3) identifying new targets for the development of disease modifying drugs of osteoarthritis; and 4) improving the osteointegration of and reducing periprosthetic infections associated with existing orthopedic metallic implants. Many of the synthetic scaffolds we designed are programmed with unique physical properties to facilitate facile surgical delivery (injectable formulations; minimally invasive in vivo deployment and stable fixation), tunable & predictive in vivo degradation profiles, and spatially controlled presentation and temporally controlled release of bioactive factors for regulating stem/progenitor cell fate within the tissue niche environment.

San Diego (ORS meeting), March 2017

L to R: Yu, Ben, Tera, Jordan, Jie & Henry