We’re excited to share the very first publication from the Lang Lab: a mini-review focused on the critical role of oxygen in cartilage biology and osteoarthritis (OA) progression. This marks not only a research milestone but also the beginning of a new external collaboration with Dr. Jay Patel, whose expertise in hydrogels and biomaterials brings a unique perspective to our shared interest in joint health.

Articular cartilage lives in a tightly regulated, low-oxygen environment. When that balance is disrupted, due to aging, injury, or disease, it can profoundly impact chondrocyte function and accelerate cartilage degeneration. In this mini-review, we explore how oxygen gradients shape cartilage homeostasis and delve into emerging therapeutic strategies that aim to restore or modulate the joint’s oxygen microenvironment. These include innovations such as oxygen-sensing nanoparticles, ROS-responsive scaffolds, and oxygen-generating biomaterials.

A special thanks goes to Christophe, who contributed significantly to the completion of this paper right after joining the lab.

This review reflects a growing area of interest in the field and raises important questions about how we can leverage oxygen dynamics in the development of stage-specific OA therapies. We’re just getting started - and we’re excited to share more soon about the joint projects underway.

👉https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03008207.2025.2530013

Our lab is officially up and running — and it’s time to share our journey with the world! 

We had a fantastic experience participating in the Ninth Annual Musculoskeletal Health Symposium, organized and hosted by the Michigan Integrative Musculoskeletal Health Core Center (MiMHC), of which we’re proud members. It was a great opportunity to engage with our local MSK research community, attend insightful presentations, and exchange ideas with other passionate scientists. We’re already looking forward to next year, when we hope to showcase some of our own findings!

Beyond the science, we’re also focused on building a welcoming, and collaborative environment for all our lab members. Our goal is to foster a strong, supportive team where cutting-edge research and shared passion go hand in hand, and where we make time for fun, too! To kick things off, we had our first lab outing at Michigan Creamery, enjoying some delicious ice cream under the shade on main campus. A sweet start to what we hope will be many memorable experiences together.

Our cell culture room is up and running, and the hypoxia chamber is fully set up—what a milestone! To make it even better, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mohd Parvez Khan, Ph.D. this week. A good friend and former colleague from UPenn, Mohd is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Toledo, just 50 minutes from Ann Arbor.

Adding to the excitement, we also celebrated the first day of Christophe Merceron, Ph.D., who joins us as a Research Lab Specialist Senior. Christophe previously worked with Mohd in Schipani’s lab, and we’re beyond thrilled to bring his deep expertise in hypoxia and HIF biology into the lab.

Having Mohd help kickstart our hypoxia research by conducting a study for his upcoming grant was an incredible way to launch this next chapter. Fingers crossed for great results—and many more exciting collaborations ahead!

A big welcome to Christophe—we’re so lucky to have you on board. I’m more than excited to work alongside such an inspiring scientist. Let’s push some boundaries together. HIF-2 rulez!

The team is growing, and it’s truly amazing to see the lab come alive with energy, enthusiasm, and joy. We’re thrilled to welcome Kim Prakaimuk Saraithong, MS, Ph.D. (front), and Tina Xiaohua Gao, MD (back) to the lab! Both have joined as Research Lab Specialists, bringing with them a tremendous amount of research experience.

Having transferred from within Michigan, Kim and Tina hit the ground running. Their expertise and initiative have already made a big impact, and the lab is running smoothly thanks to their efforts. Kim is an expert in stem cell biology, with mastery in flow cytometry, single-cell sequencing, and cutting-edge in vitro cell culture models. Tina brings tremendous expertise in mouse surgeries, ranging from lung transplantation to wound healing, and will be leading our animal experiments unit. Her work ensures we uphold the highest standards of care and scientific rigor while minimizing unnecessary loss.

Looking back at the last few months, I feel incredibly fortunate to have brought such passionate and skilled scientists on board. Their dedication to learning and advancing science is inspiring, and I’m genuinely excited about the discoveries and fun that lie ahead.

I imagine many new PIs go through a similar phase—setting up a lab while wrapping up postdoc projects: finishing papers, sorting through data, addressing revisions, and managing resubmissions. That’s why it feels especially rewarding when those efforts finally bear fruit and the workload begins to ease.

Even after all this time, it never loses its magic to see a publication out in the world as a real print. So here we go, I'm excited to share that one of my postdoc papers (with Joel D. Boerckel @UPenn) was recently published:

"CYR61 delivery promotes angiogenesis during bone fracture repair"
👉 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41536-025-00398-y

This project, while appearing straightforward at first glance, was full of unexpected turns. We identified the YAP/TAZ target gene CYR61 as a potential therapeutic in fracture repair, delivering recombinant CYR61 (rCYR61) to bone fractures using hematoma-mimetic hydrogels. Although CYR61 delivery did not significantly affect bone or cartilage formation in this system, it robustly stimulated angiogenesis. In a vascularized in vitro chip model, we found that mechanical loading modulated angiogenesis in a timing- and CYR61-dependent manner. These results build on our previous findings on the mechanical regulation of CYR61 during angiogenesis:
👉 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abb6351

This project was especially fulfilling as I implemented a new 3D angiogenesis assay in collaboration with Riccardo Gottardi, helping reduce reliance on animal experiments. I also had the pleasure of working with Mouse, a Postdoc in Dan Huh's group at UPenn, whose work on cutting-edge MPS (microphysiological systems) continues to push the boundaries of biomedical research. Implementing their chip system was incredibly exciting and allowed a clear comparison between on-chip and mouse models, insights that will shape my future research directions, as they have for years. 3R in Action!