My primary research interests are based in the development, maturation, and repair of musculoskeletal tissues. Past efforts have been focused on articular cartilage and tendon, particularly on how phenotypes for cells like chondrocytes, bone marrow stromal cells, and tendon peritenon- and tendon proper-derived progenitor cells differ by niche, or surrounding environment. Additionally, because collagen assembly and organization are important to functionally sound musculoskeletal tissue, my research interests include the examination of how collagen fibrillogenesis might be manipulated to achieve optimal recovery of tissues with repair. The ultimate goal is to determine if alterations in niche components and organization and/or interacting cell physiology can lead to alterations in repair pathways or tissue engineering strategies to prevent and treat musculoskeletal injury. In order to reach this goal, I rely on functional genomics as well as expressional (mRNA and protein) analyses, morphometric analyses, and biomechanical assays.
