Corinne Henak, PhD
Position title: Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering (affiliate)
Email: chenak@wisc.edu
More information:
- The Henak Lab website
Research Description:
The Henak Lab combines experimental and computational techniques across length scales to evaluate multiscale mechanics in the context of joint disease.
Our research on chondroprogenitor cells focuses on the interplay between aging and mechanical loading. These factors can be used to understand the ability of native cell populations to mount a reparative response following injury. We use porcine tissue explants to maintain cells in their native environment, and apply mechanical loading to cartilage from immature, adolescent, and mature animals. The long-term goals of our research are to establish the mechanosensitivity of native cell populations in cartilage, and to leverage that mechanosensitivity to create effective repair strategies.
Selected References:
- Walsh SK, Schneider S, Neu CP, Henak CR: Effects of age and mechanical loading on cartilage cell profile. 63rd Annual Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, March 2017.