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April 2022Research Section Member Spotlight: Iden Kurtaliaj, MS, Columbia University  PhD Candidate in BME, Columbia University Stavros Thomopoulos, PhD Lab Undergraduate Degree, University: Drexel University Graduate Degree, University: MS in Biomedical Engineering at Drexel University MS in Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University Who have been your mentors? Steve is my main mentor not just for science, but also for life in general. Coming from Albania, I am pretty far from my family overseas and Steve has been not just a great role model for me scientifically, but also someone who I can go to for advice about all aspects of life. Dr. Guy Genin and Dr. William Levine have also been instrumental in guiding me throughout the evolution of the initial design and translation of PythonFix into the clinic. I also look up to several people in the lab including Lynn Ann Forrester, a medical resident in orthopedics who has been instrumental in guiding me in the heavily male-dominated field of engineering, and John Boyle, a postdoc in the lab who has helped me out when I first started working in the lab. What are your specific research areas and expertise, particularly related to the tendon? My research focuses on bio-inspired solutions to treat rotator cuff pathology. What are you currently working on? I am currently working on a project that explores the functional advantages of bat shoulder joints. Bats are capable of doing repetitive overhead motions during flight for extended periods of time, and understanding what mechanical and structural properties that uniquely allow them to do this may help us gain insight into novel ways to treat rotator cuff disease in patients. In parallel, I am also working on finalizing finding a stiff bioabsorbable material to use for 3D printing of the PythonFix device. What has been the biggest challenge for you lately in your research? A big challenge was completing experiments to prove the efficiency of the PythonFix device in the human cadaver rotator cuff model. It involved multiple device re-designing steps and lots of trial and error. What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future? I’m really looking forward to starting a company to try to commercialize the device. What advice would you give investigators who are just starting out in the field? My advice is to be brave in the face of uncertainty and to be persistent in the face of defeat. When you're not in the lab, what do you like to do for fun? I like to cook and to try out new restaurants to eat around the city. What was the last book you read for fun and would you recommend it? The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides was great and I would highly recommend it! What is the most unusual/unexpected item sitting on your desk right now? I have a bunch of different 3D printed prototypes of PythonFix all over my desk. Follow Me on Social Media!
Research Section Member Spotlight: Jason C. Marvin, PhD, Cornell University  PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship & Cornell Provost Diversity Fellow
Undergraduate Degree, University: BS in Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, 2017
Graduate Degree, University:
Post-doctoral Position:
What are you currently working on?
My PhD research has focused on developing therapeutic strategies for mammalian regeneration by leveraging biological insight gained from the super-healer Murphy Roths Large (MRL/MpJ) mouse model. My previous findings demonstrated that the MRL/MpJ tendon extracellular matrix (ECM) and tenocyte-secreted soluble factors (‘secretome’) can be harnessed to modulate non-healing cells toward a regenerative phenotype. More recently, I have shown that a recombinant protein panel comprised of key constituents from the MRL/MpJ tendon ECM and secretome recapitulates the effects of administering MRL-derived components in both mouse and rat cells, which served as the premise of my 3-Minute Thesis presentation at the 2022 Tendon Section Meeting. This data is particularly exciting as it provides compelling evidence that the mechanisms underlying MRL/MpJ tendon healing are conserved across species, paving the road ahead for in vivo investigation in clinically relevant tendon injuries in larger animal models.
What has been the biggest challenge for you lately in your research?
Reigning in the urge to do more experiments when I should be writing my dissertation.
What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
I am extremely excited to be starting a postdoctoral position with Prof. Jenna Galloway later this summer! My postdoctoral research will also be focused on tendon regeneration. However, I am planning to take a more basic science approach using the zebrafish as a powerful model system for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying tendon homeostasis and healing. In particular, I am eager to explore these questions using genetics, developmental and stem cell biology, live-cell imaging, and multi-omics approaches.
What advice would you give people who are just starting out in the field?
Take time for yourself whether you get good or bad news. With milestones and good news, it can be hard to stop and appreciate everything that has happened up to that moment. With bad news, I have learned some from mentors to cultivate a “rejection ritual” to allow myself to breathe before thinking about what is next.
What is the most unusual/unexpected item sitting on your desk right now?
It is not that unusual or unexpected, but I always have dark chocolate at my desk at home to snack on while I am working (or not working).
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Twitter Handle (Personal): https://twitter.com/JasonCMarvin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncmarvin/
Personal Website: https://www.jasoncmarvin.com/
Research Section Member Spotlight: Angela Papalamprou, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
NIRA and Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS) Award Winner
I am a postdoc in the laboratory of Prof. Dmitriy Sheyn at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Undergraduate Degree, University:
I did my undergrad studies in Greece inMolecular Biology and Genetics.
Graduate Degree, University:
In my PhD studies I worked on cardiac tissue engineering at the University of California Davis. And I pursued studies on the in vivo immune response to the xenogeneic heart ECM we developed in an immunocompetent rat-to-mouse model.
Post-doctoral Position:
I am currently working in an Orthopaedic Stem Cell lab led by Prof. Sheyn. The lab is part of the Orthopaedic Department and the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai.
Past Employers:
All my academic PIs were in newly established labs, which got me highly excited to step into a new field and establish and explore new research areas.
Who have been your mentors?
The first mentor that influenced me was Prof. Georgina Ellison-Hughes. I met her during my M.Sc in the UK, and she inspired me to pursue an academic career and continue to PhD studies. Prof. Dmitriy Sheyn is also a great mentor in my postdoc studies, he is instrumental to my success here. And I am very thankful for the project that he gave me to work on in tendon tissue engineering. This project was exciting for me and led to my NIRA award. I would also like to thank Dr. Glaeser, a project scientist here, and both she and Prof. Sheyn created a very good team in a very short amount of time, which was great to experience.
What are you currently working on?
The lab here specializes in translational biology in orthopedics and works with human iPSCs, MSCs, and other stem/progenitor cells while collaborating with Cedars surgeons to translate our work into in vivo models. I personally work on tendon cell therapy applications, using tendon tissue engineering approaches, and genetic manipulation in vitro using bioreactors and hydrogel biomaterials. In my current study, I examine how Scleraxis, which is a major and important gene in tendon development, helps in tendon differentiation and tendon maturation. I specifically wanted to examine the combined influence of Scleraxis and mechanical stimulation on the differentiation of tendon cells with iPSC-derived cells.
What has been the biggest challenge for you lately in your research?
I like to do research, and I am well aware of all the challenges in science. In the current project, the biggest challenge for me, since it was a new project for the lab, was to optimize a lot of individual parameters like the bioreactors, which cells to use and their genetic manipulation, etc. And of course, also to publish the data on a certain timeline. However, this project helped me grow tremendously and I am glad that I was able to provide the lab with new methods. I am thankful to Prof. Sheyn and our team for the support.
What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
I always look for new projects that challenge me intellectually. Currently, I am very excited to take part in the iPSC to tendon-directed differentiation project that we are pursuing in the lab.
What advice would you give investigators who are just starting out in the field?
I follow things that I like in my career, and although it’s very personal, I don’t think that I will be able to work on projects that don’t excite me, and I like to have fun when I work on projects. Therefore, this is one of the pieces of advice I will give, enjoy what you are doing we only have one life, and we won’t get it back. Find a project that you love. Regarding the research, have an open mind and exercise critical thinking as much as you can. I also learned in grad school that you can always get different insights from different disciplines by talking to each other. So have an open mind, be excited and curious, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
What do you like to do for fun when you're not in the lab?
I am from Greece, and I enjoy tasting different kinds of food, I also like cooking when I have time, usually on weekends. I like to hike and exercise, and lately, I combined hiking with a food destination to try.
What was the last book you read for fun and would you recommend it?
I like to read different books and listen to various podcasts. During the pandemic, I read the “Plague” by Albert Camus. I highly recommend it. The way Camus approached the characters, and the philosophic connotations of human nature that were so relevant to what we were experiencing in real life were amazing to read and think about.
What is the most unusual/unexpected item sitting on your desk right now?
I have been trying to track my habits, and recently I bought a new journal that has a cyclic system that you can track your habits, and it helps you see them visually and do statistics on yourself.
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Research Section Member Spotlight: Anne Nichols, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center
Postdoctoral Fellow
I got my BS in Studio Art from James Madison University and then got hired to work as a research technician at the University of Virginia in Thurl Harris’s lab, on a topic completely unrelated to orthopaedics. I loved the work but not the topic, so for my PhD, I switched to studying tendon/ligament mechanobiology with the goal being to improve tissue engineering efforts with Linda Dahlgren at Virginia Tech. Currently, I'm a postdoc in Alayna Loiselle's lab in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research at URMC working on understanding the factors that promote fibrotic tendon healing.
Who have been your mentors?
Thurl, Linda, and Alayna have all been pivotal mentors in my scientific career. Thurl hired me as a technician when I had really no clue about anything, and introduced me to how an academic career in science works including what it meant to go to graduate school, do a postdoc, and become a professor. He was really the first person who made me feel like an academic science career was something I could, and wanted, to pursue. Linda was great as a PhD advisor and mentor because as a clinician-scientist, she brought a completely different perspective to my way of approaching ideas or problems. She also taught me the importance of certain responsibilities as a member of the broader scientific community including how to provide meaningful feedback on the work of others, peer review, and how to facilitate the exchange of scientific ideas. Finally, Alayna has been a phenomenal mentor during my postdoc. I specifically chose to work with someone who was early in their career so I could learn what it really looked like to start and run a lab. She has taught me so much about not just the science, but the crucial non-science related aspects of being a PI. We spend a lot of time discussing various aspects about the job about what the job entails including good management, grant writing, budgeting, etc. I’ve also been really fortunate throughout my scientific career to be surround by tons of informal mentors, including my peers and fellow trainees.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on using a new reporter mouse to evaluate the several really interesting cell populations that I’ve identified in the epitenon through lineage tracing. Specifically, I’m trying to figure out which epitenon subpopulations is contributing to flexor tendon healing after acute injury. I’ve also been working on developing methods to image mouse tendons in situ using multiphoton microscopy to try and get a better handle on the spatial relationship between different cell populations during healing.
What has been the biggest challenge for you in your research?
The whole pandemic has been super challenging, especially since it's pretty much affected my entire time as a postdoc at this point. Not being able to do the science has been a problem, but actually the part that I miss the most is having people around to talk to about different things and to bounce ideas off of. It’s really lonely to do science without people and the loss of the lab community has been difficult.
What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
Right now, I’m working on analyzing a super exciting single cell sequencing experiment with the GLAST-CreER mice to try and map out, in a cell type-specific way how epitenon cells respond to injury. I also was recently awarded a K99/00 that will allow me to generate some other, more sophisticated, genetic mouse models that will let me dig deeper into the function of GLAST and other epitenon cells specifically during adaptation to mechanical load. I’m excited to have identified a tool that we can use to better understand one of the lesser-understood tendon cell populations and am really looking forward to seeing this project unfold!
What do you want to do next in your career?
I'm currently looking for a tenure track faculty position, so if you're hiring, let me know!
What advice would you give other young investigators in the field?
It's a great time to be studying tendon! We finally have the tools to probe really interesting questions about almost every aspect of tendon biology- don't be afraid to ask bold questions.
When you're not in the lab, what do you like to do for fun?
My husband and I are pretty outdoorsy people. We really like to hike and camp with our two dogs, and kayak in the summers. We also do a lot of DIY projects around the house. During the pandemic, I taught myself how to knit and have been doing that a lot as well. It’s a great stress relief activity!
What resources would you like to see available from the ORS Tendon Section for encouraging young investigators?
I think the Tendon Section already does a great job encouraging trainees and young investigators through the trainee-focused awards and specific programming at the ORS Annual Meeting. The field is still small enough that these platforms provide a great way to get work out there and to get recognized. I do think it would be great to have young investigators more represented in the tendon section leadership so that they are involved in planning discussions and in making decisions that affect the overall section trajectory.
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Research Section Member Spotlight: Mary Kate Evans, BS, University of Pennsylvania
I completed my BS in Biomedical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in 2018 where I also played Division I basketball. After graduating, I decided to take a gap year to work as a research assistant in the Microcirculation and Vascular Regeneration Laboratory at Cal Poly. Through this experience, I decided that I wanted to pursue a PhD, which I began in 2019 at the University of Pennsylvania.
Who have been your mentors?
At Cal Poly, I was mentored by my advisor Dr. Trevor Cardinal and my basketball coach, Faith Mimnaugh. Currently, my advisor, Dr. Nat Dyment is an awesome mentor.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on trying to better understand the role of internal (cell-mediated) forces in skeletal and connective tissue development, especially at the interface between tendon entheses and the underlying bone, known as an attachment unit. Although we know that applied loading (i.e. muscle contraction) is critical for attachment unit development, the role of cell-mediated forces during attachment unit development is poorly understood. More specifically, I study non-muscle myosins, which play a critical role in generating cell-mediated contractility by pulling on actin filaments to generate force.
What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
So far we have been surprised by the role that non-muscle myosins have in tuberosity development and enthesis maturation, so I am looking forward to gaining a better understanding of how non-muscle myosins regulate these processes to hopefully inform enthesis repair strategies in the future.
When you're not in the lab, what do you like to do for fun?
I enjoy trying out new restaurants in Philly with friends, playing basketball, CrossFit, and going to my favorite store, Trader Joes.
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