Russell P. Main Associate Professor

Research Interests:

• In vivo musculoskeletal biomechanics
• Skeletal adaptation to load and disuse
• Biological regulation of skeletal structure and mass
• Skeletal development

Dr. Main’s interests in musculoskeletal mechanobiology span the understanding of mechanisms by which cells sense and respond to mechanical stimuli to load-induced changes in bone and tissue architecture and its effects on organ and whole-animal performance. Dr. Main’s work integrates a number of different approaches across biology and engineering. His lab takes a questions-based approach to science and are very involved in developing new in vivo and in vitro models and analytical tools to address their varied interests.

Current Projects

• How regulation of bone at the genetic and cellular level affects skeletal structure and the ability to withstand mechanical load; in vivo biomechanics to measure how the musculoskeletal system is loaded by external forces during locomotion; musculoskeletal adaptation to applied mechanical loading and unloading at the gene, protein, cell, and whole bone levels.

Expertise:

• Engineered Biomaterials and Biomechanics

Expertise

• Basic Medical Sciences