Principal Investigator
Shouan Zhu, Ph.D.
Dr. Zhu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Ohio University where he is also a Junior Scholar of the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI). He did his PhD training in both Zhejiang University in China and Johns Hopkin University in the USA. He then completed his postdoctoral training in the Aging & Metabolism Research Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. His research interests include: How joint cells (like chondrocytes) alter metabolism in aging and obesity; how altered metabolism affects joint cell functions and contributes to osteoarthritis development; how to ameliorate osteoarthritis through targeting metabolic pathways.
Current Members
Huanhuan Liu, Ph.D.
Dr. Liu is a research scientist in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and has affiliations with the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI). Dr. Liu completed her Ph.D. in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at Zhejiang University in China. Her research was to investigate the role of the transcription factor Mohawk (Mkx) in tendon development and the application of Mkx for tendon regeneration. She then completed her postdoc training at Johns Hopkins University and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She is now leading a project in the Zhu lab studying acetyl-coa carboxylase (ACC) mediated protein malonylation and chondrocyte metabolism in OA development.
Daniella Issa, M.S.
Daniella is currently a Ph.D. student in Translational Biomedical Sciences (TBS) graduate program at Ohio University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the Lebanese University, then pursued her master’s degree in General Biochemistry. Her first exposure to research during her graduate studies motivated her to pursue a career in research. She aspires to make advances in the biomedical science field which will ultimately impact people’s health. Her research focus in Dr. Zhu’s lab is investigating the role Sirt5 and protein post-translational modifications in chondrocyte metabolic dysfunction osteoarthritis development.