The long-term goal of my research program is to discover therapeutic targets, including druggable therapies and rehabilitative strategies, that promote tendon and enthesis regeneration. My research portfolio includes the development of pre-clinical and translational models to study the development, injury, and healing of the tendon enthesis. Our work also integrates imaging based tools (nanocomputed tomography; confocal microscopy) with statistical shape modeling to quantify shape changes in bones due to changes in muscle contractions and developmental cues. I have received competitive, independent funding to support tendon and enthesis research from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
The tendon-bone insertion, also known as the enthesis, is subjected to dynamic loading conditions and play an integral role in the stability and function of the musculoskeletal system. However, the development, modeling, and remodeling of the enthesis is poorly understood. Over the past fifteen years, my research focus on skeletal muscle loading has identified the importance of neonatal muscle contraction on the growth of a functional tendon-bone enthesis as well as articulating joints. I have used Cre-lox mouse models as well as unloading (e.g., botulinum toxin A as well as denervation) and overuse models of skeletal muscle contraction (e.g., optogenetic stimulation) to study the contributions of muscle loading during postnatal growth of tendon and joints. I have also studied the role of tendon and enthesis development and muscle loading on bone healing following fracture. We have developed an in vivo model to study increased muscle loading during postnatal growth using optogenetic-induced activation.