Student Research Day
May 4th, 2011

Student:	Kendrick Au, B.S.
Mentor:	Dr. Yingjie Guan and Dr. Qian Chen
Title:	The Expression miRNA-365 in Growth Plate.
	The presentation will examine the increased expression of miRNA-365, COL X and IHH from mechanical loading. In addition, in vivo data will be shown from isolated chicken growth plates that illustrate miR-365 expression pattern in a growth plate mimics that of Ihh - with the characteristically elevated expression in the prehypertrophic zone. Moreover, the expression of miR-365 not only overlaps with Ihh, but also is both necessary and sufficient for inducing Ihh and the subsequent hypertrophic marker Col X.  ). Consequently, this outlines the potentially important role of miR-365 in regulating chondrocyte differentiation in the growth plate.
Student:	Eni Halilaj, B.A.
Mentor:	Joseph J. Crisco, PhD
Title:	3D Arthrokinemakites in the Thumb CMC Joint during High Demand Functional Tasks.
	The thumb plays a central role in grasping and precision handling maneuvers.  The base of the thumb -- the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint – which gives the thumb great support and flexibility is a common target for osteoarthritis (OA), primarily in the female population. Degenerative changes in this joint can make daily tasks painful and loss of thumb function can cause up to 50% impairment in the upper extremity. Despite the importance of this joint, little is understood today about its biomechanics, the etiology of CMC OA, and the gender differences that may lead to the prevalence of OA in women.  In this talk I will present results from a study whose aim is to determine 3D in-vivo kinematics during high demand functional tasks, in asymptomatic individuals.
Student:	Bethany Wilcox, B.S.
Mentor:	Joseph J. Crisco, PhD
Title:	Biomechanics of Head Impacts in Collegiate Football.
	The purpose of this project was to quantify head impacts (frequency, location, and magnitude) for individual collegiate football players and to investigate the differences in player position over the past four seasons at 3 NCAA colleges.  The findings of this study reveal the biomechanics of head impacts in collegiate football that are critical to advancing the understanding of the biomechanics of concussion injuries.
Student:	Michael Rainbow, B.S.
Mentor:	Joseph J. Crisco, PhD
Title:	In Vivo Kinematics of the Scaphonid, Lunate, Capitate and Third Metacarpal in Extreme Wrist Flexion and Extension.
	Insights into the complexity of active in vivo carpal motion have been gained recently using MRI and CT imaging studies that are capable of tracking 3-D motion of the carpal bones; however kinematics during extremes of  motion have not been fully elucidated.  The purpose of this study was to determine motion of the carpus during extremes of wrist flexion and extension.
Student:	Daniel Leo Miranda, B.S.
Mentor:	Braden Fleming, PhD
Title:	Gender Differences in the Neuromechanics of Jumping and Cutting in Healthy & Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstructed Athletes.
	ACL injuries have reached epidemic proportions and place both male and female athletes at high risk for post-traumatic arthritis. Additionally, the increased rate of ACL injury observed in female sports participants, as compared to males, is not well understood. The proposed study will investigate the kinematic, kinetic, and neuromuscular factors associated with the observed gender bias. It will also explore neuromuscular and biomechanical knee function in ACL reconstructed men and women years after surgery. It is our hope that these data will impact novel gender specific injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies and reduce the economic burden of ACL injury and its long term consequences.
Student:	Kevin Thomas Koopman, B.S.
Mentor:	Qian Chen, PhD
Title:	Matrilin-3 and Nanotube matrix Enhance Chondrocyte Adhesion and Reduce Inflammatory Response.
	For our study, we proposed a novel strategy to use collagen structure-like rosette nanotubes (RNTs) to improve chondrocyte adhesion and functions, modified with the extracellular matrix protein matrilin-3 (MATN3) to inhibit inflammation. RNTs are generated from DNA base pairs and are biomimetic delivery devices that can undergo a self-assembly process to form nanotubes. Previous studies found that RNTs were able to mimic collagen matrix to enhance protein and cell adhesion. Moreover, MATN3 was recently found to decrease the chondrocyte inflammatory response and maintain cartilage homeostasis. In addition, MATN3 naturally binds with collagens for their biological functions. Therefore, there is a great interest to combine MATN3 and collagen-like RNTs to generate a multi-functional matrix for decreasing the inflammatory response while enhancing chondrocyte adhesion and functions. We developed and characterized a MATN3/RNT matrix and tested its abilities towards improving chondrocyte functions and decreasing inflammation.
Student:	Robert Stefani, B.S.
Mentor:	Roy Aaron, MD
Title:	A Quantitative Method to Analyze the Ultrastructure of Articular Cartilage.
	For our study, we proposed a novel strategy to use collagen structure-like rosette nanotubes (RNTs) to improve chondrocyte adhesion and functions, modified with the extracellular matrix protein matrilin-3 (MATN3) to inhibit inflammation. RNTs are generated from DNA base pairs and are biomimetic delivery devices that can undergo a self-assembly process to form nanotubes. Previous studies found that RNTs were able to mimic collagen matrix to enhance protein and cell adhesion. Moreover, MATN3 was recently found to decrease the chondrocyte inflammatory response and maintain cartilage homeostasis. In addition, MATN3 naturally binds with collagens for their biological functions. Therefore, there is a great interest to combine MATN3 and collagen-like RNTs to generate a multi-functional matrix for decreasing the inflammatory response while enhancing chondrocyte adhesion and functions. We developed and characterized a MATN3/RNT matrix and tested its abilities towards improving chondrocyte functions and decreasing inflammation.