Lab News
August 23, 2023
- SC-TRIMH (NIH COBRE) Renewed!
The NIH funded ($11.2 million) South Carolina Translation Research Improving Musculoskeletal Health
as a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (P20GM121342). Dr. Yao serves as the PI for this
center grant.
August 16, 2024
Congratulations! Daniel Bonthius has been selected as the recipient of a North American Spine Society (NASS) 2024 Translational Young Investigator Research Grant Award in the amount of $40,000.
July 2, 2024
Congratulations! Dustin Mueller received his NIH F30 fellowship from NIDCR.
May 16, 2024
Congratulations! Daniel Bonthius received his MD/PhD degree at the MUSC 2024 commencement.
April 26-27, 2024
Congratulations! Peng Chen, Shuchun Sun, Farhad Ahmadi, and Dustin Mueller presented at the 9th International TMJ Conference at the University of Pennsylvania.
April 2, 2024
Congratulations! Shuchun Sun passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title:
"Identifying Temporomandibular Disorder Morphological Risk Factors via Explainable Deep Learning and Multiscale Biomechanical Modeling".
March 13, 2024
Patent issued: Method, System and Application for 3D Molecular Diffusion Tensor Measurement and Structural Imaging.
March 1, 2024
Congratulations! Marshall Wilson was selected for an NIH T32 predoctoral fellowship.
January 1, 2024
Congratulations! Cherice Hill completed her postdoctoral training in the lab and joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester as a tenure-track assistant professor.
December 12, 2023
Dr. Yao gave a seminar at the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania.
December 3-4, 2023
The TMJ SYMPHONY Kickoff meeting was held at MUSC.
September 14, 2023
The TMJ SYMPHONY planning grant was funded through the TMD IMPACT program by NIDCR (R34 DE033593).
TMJ SYMPHONY: Systems-integrated model and mechanisms of patient centered holistic outcomes and network-supported training and therapy.
August 15, 2023
Congratulations! Angela Mei started her freshman year at Harvard College.
July 14, 2023
Congratulations! Clemson named Dr. Yao inaugural Associate Vice President for Biomedical Innovation.
January 10, 2023
Angela Mei, High School Senior, was named a top 300 Scholar in the 82nd Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS)
- the nation's oldest and most prestigious Science and mathematics competition for high school seniors.
November 10, 2022
Congratulations! Dr. Cherice Hill was selected as a NIH MOSIAC Scholar.
She has also been the subject of research spotlights by the American Association of Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial research
(AADOCR) and Association of American Medical Colleges
(AAMC).
November 8, 2022
Congratulations! Shuchun Sun won First Place Oral Presentation for Interprofessional Collaboration Research Award,
and Dr. Cherice Hill won First Place in postdoc poster presentation at the 2022 MUSC Annual Research Day.
September 18, 2022
Dr. Yao, Daniel Bonthious, and Dr. Gross received a NIH SBIR ward (R43AR080507)
to further develop and commercialize the rib fixation technology to treat severe spine deformities.
August 15, 2022
Dr. Shangping Wang was promoted to tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson.
August 5, 2022
Congratulations! Dr. Cherice Hill received a NIH K99 award (K99DE031345).
June 16, 2022
Dr. Yao was invited to serve on the NIH/NIDCR Research Workforce Working Group for the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial
Research Council (NADCRC) that will provide input on the development of the dental, oral and craniofacial research workforce for the future.
May 18, 2022
Dr. Yao gave a keynote at the 7th TMJ Bioengineering Conference in Pittsburg, PA.
May 10, 2022
Congratulations! Angela Mei, high school research intern, was named as a National Finalist for
both the 2022 National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) and the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
April 28, 2022
Congratulations! Daniel Bonthius, MD-PhD student, passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title:
"A Rib Construct for Severe Spinal Deformity: Clinical, Biomechanical, Animal Studies, and Commercialization". Daniel is continuing his studies in the medical school for his MSTP training.
April 7, 2022
Dr. Yao was invited to serve as a Member of the NIH Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration Study Section (SBSR) for a 4-year term.
February 18, 2022
Congratulations! Shuchun Sun won the First Place in PhD student category, and Peng Chen won the First Place in postdoc category at the 2022 MUSC JBECDM Annual Scholar Day.
February 8, 2022
Congratulations! Daniel Bonthius won the 2nd Place for 2022 ORS Business Innovation Competition at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2022 Annual Meeting.
January 15, 2022
New U01 project
(U01DE031512) "Assessment of Temporomandibular Joint Morphology,
Mechanics, and Mechanobiology in Class II and III Target and Surgical Phenotypes" was funded by NIDCR ($3.2 million) for 5 years.
July 1, 2021
MUSC dental T32 training grant
(T32DE017551), directed by Dr. Yao, was successfully renewed (2021-2026).
June 1, 2021
Dr. Yao received NIH COBRE supplements ($1.5 million, P20GM121342-03S1)
to establish "SARS-CoV2 sequencing surveillance program for Upstate South Carolina".
May 5, 2021
Congratulations! Dr. Yao received the inaugural Clemson University
Distinguished Doctoral Mentoring Award for his commitment to doctoral student success.
March 26, 2021
3D FRAP work published in Nature Communications.
January 27, 2021
TMJ Biomechanics project was funded by NIDCR ($2.4 million) for another 5 years.
January 2, 2021
Dr. Wang was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson.
December 11, 2020
Dr. Hill received the Student/Trainee Registration Award to attend the Orthopaedic Research Society 2021
Annual Meeting.
December 10, 2020
Dr. Yao gave a talk for the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine seminar series, co-sponsored
by the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
November 12, 2020
Congratulations! Eugene Mah passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title: "Dental Cone Beam
Computed Tomography Dose Coefficients and Dual Energy CT for Temporomandibular Joint Imaging".
November 6, 2020
Dr. Hill won the First Place in postdoc category at the MUSC Annual Research Day.
October 29, 2020
Congratulations! Peng Chen passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title: "Light-sheet
Imaging-based FRAP: A Noninvasive Platform Measures 3D Anisotropic Extracellular Diffusion".
October 22, 2020
Dr. Wang received a Junior Investigator Grant Award ($100k) from MTF Biologics.
September 17, 2020
As invited speaker, Dr. Yao gave a talk at the NIH HEAL Initiative Workshop on Myofascial Pain,
September 16-17, 2020
July 9, 2020
Congratulations! Daniel receive his NIH F31 predoctoral fellowship (F31AR076917), titled "Analysis of
the rib construct for treatment of early-onset spinal deformity with hyperkyphosis".
May 11, 2020
Congratulations! Cherice has been selected as one of the 10 mentees in the inaugural class of 2020 for
the AADR MIND the future program. This NIH/NIDCR funded program aims to build a vibrant, diverse, and
inclusive community of investigators whose participation is vital to advancing dental, oral and
craniofacial research and improving the oral health of our nation.
March 12, 2020
Published! Study Report "Temporomandibular Disorders: Priorities for Research and Care" from the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (PMID: 32200600). Dr. Yao served on the
committee for this report.
February 11, 2020
Daniel won the ORS Spine Podium Award at the Orthopaedic Research Society 2020 Annual Meeting.
February 7, 2020
Dr. Yao received an I2P (Ideas to Products) grant from the Southeast Regional Technology Transfer Hub
funded by NIH/NIGMS.
February 3, 2020
Daniel has been selected as a finalist for the ORS Spine Section Award Competition at the ORS 2020
Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona from February 8-11, 2020.
January 21, 2020
Xin has been selected as a finalist for the Dr. Bernard G. Sarnat Award Competition at the 2020
IADR/AADR meeting in Washington, DC from March 18-21, 2020.
August 15, 2019
Sarah Cisewski completed her postdoc training and joined the College of Charleston as an Assistant
Professor.
August 8, 2019
Congratulations! Daniel Bonthius, MD/PhD student, received a NIH TL1 predoctoral research fellowship.
July 30, 2019
Yongren joined the Clemson Bioengineering faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor.
June 2, 2019
Dr. Yao received the Dr. James Russell Neff Award from the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation
(MTF).
June 1, 2019
Congratulations! Matthew Coombs received a NIH K99 award
May 21, 2019
Congratulations! Changcheng's collaborative work with Dr. He at Columbia University was published in
Nature Materials.
May 7, 2019
Dr. Yao received the 2019 Clemson Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Research Achievements in
Research.
May 4, 2019
Matthew Coombs was selected as Finalist for the Orthodontic & Craniofacial Clinical and Translational
Research Award at the IADR/AADR 2019 Annual Meeting.
April 8, 2019
Congratulations! Xin She passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title: “Sexual
Dimorphisms in Human Temporomandibular Joint Morphology and Function“
November 1, 2018
Congratulations! Matthew Coombs received a NIH F32 award.
September 15, 2018
The NIH funded ($11.2 million) South Carolina Translation Research Improving Musculoskeletal Health as a
Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (P20GM121342). Dr. Yao serves as the PI for this center grant.
March 29, 2018
Congratulations! Feng Wei passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title: “Behavior,
Function, and Shape Assessment for Temporomandibular Joint“
December 1, 2017
Congratulations! Glenn Hepfer passed his PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title: “Transport,
Structure, and Chemical Changes in the Corneal Stroma Extracellular Matrix Following Collagen
Cross-Linking“
October 3, 2017
Congratulations! Matthew Coombs received the Outstanding Scientific Abstract Award at the American
Association of Tissue Banks 2017 Annual Meeting.
April 12, 2017
Congratulations! Hanna Frankel, High School Senior, Third Place (high school senior) at the 2017
Lowcountry Science and Engineering Fair.
March 22, 2017
Congratulations! Matthew Coombs, Postdoctoral Fellow, Finalist for the AADR Hatton Competition at the
IADR/AADR 2017 Annual Meeting.
March 19, 2017
Congratulations! Sarah Cisewski, PhD student, Finalist for an ORS Spine Section Member Poster Award at
the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2017 Annual Meeting.
September 1, 2016
Congratulations! Changcheng's collaborative work with Dr. Embree at Columbia University was
published in Nature Communications.
August 15, 2016
Congratulations! Renee joined Clemson Bioengineering Faculty as a tenure-track Assistant
Professor.
May 9, 2016
Congratulations! Sarah passed her PhD dissertation defense. Dissertation title: “Nutrient Related
Mechanisms of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration”
May 6, 2016
Glenn presented a paper, entitled “Anisotropic Diffusion in the Corneal Stroma Measured by
Three-Dimensional Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching”, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).
April 5, 2016
Congratulations! Emily won the first place (high school senior) and MUSC award at the Lowcountry Science
and Engineering Fair.
March 17, 2016
Feng presented a paper, entitled “Nocturnal Temporalis Muscle Activities in Temporomandibular
Joint Disorders Diagnostic Groups”, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Association for
Dental Research (AADR).
March 7, 2016
Sarah presented a paper, entitled “Oxygen Consumption Rates of Human Intervertebral Disc Cells”,
at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2016 Annual Meeting.
March 5, 2016
Congratulations! Yongren's paper, entitle “Role of Cartilage Endplate in Disc Mechanics and
Nutrition ”, was chosen as a finalist for the New Investigator Recognition Award at the
Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2016 Annual Meeting.
January 29, 2016
Congratulations! Renee accepted an offer as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Clemson
University.
January 14, 2016
Congratulations! Emily presented her high school senior thesis, entitled “Increasing the Efficacy
of Corneal Cross-linking [CXL] on Keratoconic Eyes by Using Pulsing UV-A Light”.
January 7, 2016
Congratulations! Matthew joined the lab with a NIH T32 postdoctoral Fellowship.
December 17, 2015
Congratulations! John presented his high school senior thesis, entitled “The Development and
Validation of an Alginate-Encapsulated, Three-Dimensional Intervertebral Disc Cell Culture System”.
October 1, 2015
Congratulations! Renee joined the lab with a NIH T32 postdoctoral Fellowship.
May 6, 2015
Glenn presented a paper, entitled “Development and Validation of Oxygen Diffusion-limited Model of
Corneal Cross-linking”, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and
Ophthalmology (ARVO).
April 29, 2015
Congratulations! Sarah was accorded honorable mention status in the 2015 Ford Foundation Fellowship
Programs competition administered by the National Research Council of the National Academies.
March 25, 2015
Congratulations! Deidra won the second place (high school senior) and Yale Science and Engineering award
at the Lowcountry Science and Engineering Fair.
April 14, 2015
Congratulations! Greg passed his PhD dissertation defense.
Dissertation title: “Biomechanical Characterization and Modeling of the Human TMJ Disc”.
March 12, 2015
Yongren presented a paper, entitled “Tractional force on temporomandibular joint disc: a finite
element analysis”, at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research
(AADR).
March 11, 2015
Greg presented a paper, entitled “Tensile stress relaxation properties of human TMJ disc”,
at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR).
August 15, 2014
We just launched new version of our lab website. Thanks Feng for adapting this neat template.
August 6, 2014
We hosted Dr. Clements (Clemson President) and Dr. Cole (MUSC President) for a tour of the Clemson-MUSC
Bioengineering Program laboratories.All of the faculty had the opportunity to show Drs. Clements and
Cole their labs and science and to introduce students and fellows. They were highly impressed with our
mission and progress.
August 1, 2014
Congratulations! Glenn passed the qualifying exam for the PhD candidacy.
July 19, 2014
Dr. Yao was invited to give a talk at the 7th World Congress of Biomechanics, Boston, MA.
July 1, 2014
Dr. Gross joined the Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory. Previously, Dr. Gross was a Professor and Chief for
the Pediatric Orthopedics at MUSC.
June 19, 2014
Dr. Yao was invited to give a talk at the TMJ Bioengineering Conference, Pittsburg, PA.
June 10, 2014
Dr. Yao served on the NIH MTE study section meeting.
May 19, 2014
Congratulations! Wenjun passed her PhD dissertation defense.
May 5, 2014
Congratulations! Glenn received a NIH/NEI travel grant to present a paper at the 2014 Annual Meeting for
the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
April 25, 2014
Congratulations! Glenn was awarded best paper presentation in cornea crosslinking at the 2014 annual
meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).
April 8, 2014
Congratulations! Wenjun received the Clemson Bioengineering Graduate Student Research Award.