The McNulty Lab is developing strategies to prevent osteoarthritis and promote tissue repair and regeneration following joint injury. To accomplish this, we are working in three main areas. 1) We are working to understand the pathways activated by normal and injurious mechanical loading of cartilage and meniscus and how these mechanotransduction pathways are altered during aging, injury, and tissue degeneration. A greater understanding of alterations in mechanosensitive signaling mechanisms with aging and injury will likely reveal potential targets to promote tissue repair and prevent degeneration and osteoarthritis development. 2) We are developing meniscus tissue-engineered constructs that will be utilized to repair and replace meniscus tissue lost due to injury and surgical resection. 3)  We are focusing on the biological and biomechanical changes in the joint following meniscus injury and how these may contribute to osteoarthritis development.   

Projects

1. Development of tissue engineering and gene therapy strategies to enhance repair of meniscus tears

2) Understanding the chondrocyte mechanome to identify therapeutic targets for joint diseases

3) Understanding meniscus mechanotransduction mechanisms in health and disease
 

Past Members

• Benjamin Andress, Graduate Student 2018 – 2022; Current Position: Clinical Chemistry Fellowship at Mayo Clinic
• Paulo Arrigoni, Visiting Research Scholar 2018-2019; Current Position: Orthopaedic surgeon at ASST ovest Milanese, Hospital of Legnano, Milan, Italy
• Kevin Betsch, Research Technician II, June 2020 – May 2023; Current Position: Research Analyst I, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University Medical School
• Keileen Fei, Medical Student Researcher 2021 – 2022; Current Position: Medical Student, Duke University
• Saman Firoozi, Postdoctoral Associate, 2022–2023
• Gavin Gonzales, Duke University Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) Fellow Summer 201; Current Position: Graduate Student at Duke University
• Noelani Ho, Undergraduate BioCoRE (Biosciences Collaborative for Research Engagement) Fellow Sept 2015 – May 2017, Research Technician I July 2017- Aug 2018; Current position: Medical Student at the University of North Carolina
• Abigail Holt, Research Tech II – 7/2019 thru 7/2021; Current Position: Masters Student, UNC Public Health
• Rebecca Irwin, Post-doctoral Associate 2020-2021; Current Position: Post-doctoral Fellow, Cornell University
• Jason Kim, Aug 2018-May 2019 Undergraduate Intern, Aug 2019-May 2020 Undergraduate Independent Study Student;  Current Position: Medical Student, Rush Medical College
• Lucas Lyons, Research Technician II 2018 – 2020, Summer 2021; Current Position: Medical Student, Upstate Medical School
• James Nishimuta, Research Analyst 2014–2018; Current Position: Product Research Engineer, Align Technology
• Sofia Hidalgo Perea, Jan 2018-May 2020 Undergraduate Independent Study Student;  Current Position: Medical Student, Stony Brook University
• Jacob Ruprecht, Undergraduate Pratt School of Engineering Fellow, Jan 2015 – July 2016; Current Position: Senior Mechanical Engineer at Farapulse
• Jennifer Stencel, Undergraduate Pratt School of Engineering Fellow, Jan 2016 – Feb 2017; Current Position: MBA/JD Candidate, University of Michigan
• Bailey Stinnett, BME Master’s Student Intern 2/20-8/20,  BME Mater’s Independent Study Student 8/20-11/2; Current Position: Medical Student, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

• Comprehensive publications list

Available positions in the McNulty Lab are for graduate students, medical students, and postdoctoral researchers. Duke graduate and/or medical students should send an email stating their interest in a research rotation. Postdoctoral candidates should provide a cover letter, CV, and contact information for three professional references. These items should be sent to alr@duke.edu.

Note: Although no positions are currently available, we encourage you to check this page for updates. Thank you!

Fun in the McNulty Lab!