Research goals of the Integrative Skeletal Adaptation and Genetics Laboratory require a highly multi-discplinary approach that unites students, post-docs, and professors with different backgrounds, both scientifically and culturally. In fact, we enjoy the talents of stellar national and international researchers from half a dozen different countries who bring unique skills and expertise to this lab. While no lab member has won the bragging rights for the best national cuisine and we will never agree on the restaurant of choice, we consistently show that science can indeed be great fun.

Shikha recently (2008) completed her doctoral dissertation, “Analytical and Numerical Nanoindentation Studies of Compliant Biomaterials and Soft Tissues”, from the University of California, Berkeley. After a short stint as a Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies in Washington D.C., Shikha joined our lab as a postdoctoral researcher.  Her current research efforts are focused on understanding how specific repetitive patterns of mechanical unloading affect musculoskeletal adaptation.  Shikha is also interesting in learning how reduced levels of mechanical information affect the regenerative capacity of bone.  In addition to her scientific endeavors, Shikha engages herself in a variety of artistic and athletic pursuits, including hiking, tennis, salsa dancing, and singing in the shower (recordings available upon request). 

Upon completion of his doctoral dissertation "Phenotypic Integration Contributes to Skeletal Functionality and Fragility" (try this tongue-twister) in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the City College of New York and Mount Sinai School of Medicine Orthopaedics Research Laboratory in Spring 2008, Steve joined our lab as a post-doc. Currently, his research focuses on how subtle modulation of bone quality influences bone's mechanical behavior. Steve's research interests also include the osteocyte network's role in mechanosensitivity and the genetic and evolutionary bases of the co-adaptation of bone morphology and composition. Steve is a true sports fanatic (you think he is a Yankees fan?), enjoys puzzles and trivia, and plays piano.

Engin is a mechanical engineer who did his Master's thesis on the "Fabrication and Characterization of Ceramic Foams Based on Silicon Carbide Matrix and Alumino-Silicate Spheres" in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stony Brook In Fall 2005, he joined our lab as a doctoral student. Currently he is deeply immersed in understanding what defines the mechanosensitivity of trabecular bone and how these results can be translated to the clinic. More importantly to some, he has introduced the lab to delicacies of the Turkish cuisine and arranged for the recent opening of the Pita House in Setauket.   Serefe!

Nilsson joined the lab as a doctoral student in 2005. He is currently working on the identification of mechanical signals that maintain the morphology and biochemical properties of the intervertebral disc during disuse. In his free time, he regularly plays squash and dreams of beating his adviser one day (yeah right).

Ben joined the lab as a doctoral student in 2007 with Dr. Clint Rubin as his principal adviser.  Ben's interests are related to mechanosensation  at the tissue and cellular levels and, more specifically, focus on the developmental link between bone and fat, the mesenchymal stem cell, and its role in modulating osteogenesis.  Further, Ben recently got married (congratulations!!!) and wishes that a couple of specific pictures taken by his lab mates towards the end of the fantastic party will not be mixed into his professional slide presentations (but then again ... isn't dancing an excellent example for the application of mechanical signals to the skeleton?).

Gunes is a Ph.D. student who switched from Mechanical Engineering to BME after completing his M.S. degree with a thesis entitled "Experimental Study of Crack Propagation Characteristics in Lamellar TiAl".  Not concerned about his reputation as a tough titanium-aluminum guy, he has found a new fondness for softer materials and cells in our lab.  Specifically, he is currently investigating, experimentally and analytically, the specific physical environment of cells within the bone marrow when subject to high-frequency oscillatory motions. He also enjoys computers and science fiction.

Andi joined the lab in the fall of 2008 to start her doctoral work in skeletal biomechanics. Her research is focused on bone quality and how it is perturbed by biochemical and mechanical signals. Andi is very interested in translational research to find alternative therapies for treating skeletal diseases such as osteoporosis. Andi enjoys the Red Sox, snowboarding and spending time with her family and her dog, Fenway.

After an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering, Aditi came to Stony Brook University in 2008 and joined us as a Masters student. Her interest in limb prostheses and their attachment to bone led to an interest in biomechanics and she is currently investigating the effects of low magnitude vibrations on bone morphology and adipogenesis. Besides, she loves writing, blogging, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, James Michener, Pandurang Sadashiv Sane, vegetarianism, dogs and Cricket (and we are sure that her patience developed by watching Cricket will make even the slowest research project look like the bullet train).

Liz is a 3rd year BME student from upstate New York close to the Canadian border (-30 anyone?). While she is not working in the lab, Liz enjoys playing tennis and watching movies.

Svetlana is the brilliant microcomputed tomography czar in our laboratory.

2006-2008 Graduate Student (MS). Genetic determinants that site-specifically regulate bone quantity and architecture

2006-2007  Post-doc.  Molecular and cellular mechanisms by which cells respond to mechanical signals

2004-2007  Undergraduate Researcher.  Morphological factors defining bone's sensitivity to disuse osteoporosis

2007-2008 Undergraduate Researcher.  Vertebral morphology in a genetically heterogeneous population

2006-2007 Visiting Professor.  Stem cell proliferation and differentiation in response to low amplitude mechanical signals

2006-2007 Visiting Professor.  Extremely small-magnitude accelerations enhance bone regeneration

2005-2007 Graduate Student (MS). Genetic modulation of trabecular bone stresses

2001-2005 Graduate Student (PhD).  Molecular and genetic basis of bone’s plasticity to hindlimb unloading

2002-2006 Graduate Student (PhD). Low level mechanical vibrations enhance musculoskeletal accretion in growing mice

2000-2006 Graduate Student (PhD).  Low-level accelerations applied in the absence of weight bearing can alter cellular activity and tissue morphology in the skeleton

2003-2005 Graduate Student (MS). Morphological and chemical properties that define bone’s intrinsic stiffness during early development

2002-2004 Graduate Student (MS). Regulation of bone quantity and quality by its mechanical and chemical properties

2002-2007 Undergraduate Researcher.   Bone's sensitivity to radiation.

2002-2003 Undergraduate Researcher.    Dependency of bone’s mechanical environment on the magnitude and frequency of mechanical vibrations