Research
My passion for science was originally sparked by years of playing soccer, where the physical demands and injuries led to a curiosity about biomechanics and recovery. This curiosity allowed me to follow a path in oncological and orthopedic research at Oregon State and Columbia University, which have deepened my understanding of medical science and the human body.
Synovial fluid does not retard fluid exudation during stress-relaxation of immature bovine cartilage
At the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory (MBL), established under the direction of Gerard A. Ateshian in 1996 at Columbia University, I aided in a study that investigated whether the high viscosity of synovial fluid (SF) slows interstitial fluid exudation from immature bovine cartilage during stress-relaxation, compared to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Results showed no significant difference in fluid load support or relaxation behavior between SF and PBS, rejecting the hypothesis that SF viscosity meaningfully retards fluid exudation.
Sise C.V., Petersen C.A., Yun J., Vukelic S., Hung C.T., Ateshian G.A. Synovial Fluid Does Not Retard Fluid Exudation During Stress-Relaxation of Immature Bovine Cartilage. Journal of Biomechanics. September 2024.Development of a 3D in vitro human-sized model of cervical dysplasia to evaluate the delivery of ethyl cellulose-ethanol injection for the treatment of cervical dysplasia ablation
The second study I was a part of at the Fogg lab was one which developed a human-sized 3D in vitro model of cervical dysplasia using GelMA hydrogels to mimic the cervical microenvironment, incorporating cervical cancer cells, fibroblasts, and keratinocytes. The model demonstrated high cell viability, tissue-like viscoelasticity, and successful retention of EC-ethanol injections. Importantly, EC-ethanol treatment selectively reduced cancer cell viability while preserving healthy cells, supporting its potential as a localized, low-cost therapy for use in low-resource settings.
Cadena IA., Adhikari G., Almer A., Obasi N., Zurita NFS., Rochefort WE., Mueller JL., Fogg KC. Development of a 3D in vitro human-sized model of cervical dysplasia to evaluate the delivery of ethyl cellulose-ethanol injection for the treatment of cervical dysplasia ablation. bioRxiv, 2024 Feb 23. doi: 10.1101/2024.02.20.581242Another study I had the privilege to be a part of during my time at the MBL investigated how synovial fluid (SF) components, primarily lubricin, degrade during reciprocal sliding friction in immature bovine cartilage, leading to fatigue failure and delamination if not replenished. The results suggest that the protective effect of SF against cartilage wear diminishes over time, particularly when SF is reused, highlighting the importance of SF turnover for joint health and potential osteoarthritis treatment strategies.
Kroupa K., Sise V., Pellicore MJ., Obasi N., Vukelic S., Hung CT., Ateshian GA. Synovial Fluid Breaks Down During Daily Reciprocating Sliding Frictional Contact in Immature Bovine Cartilage. Orthopeadic Research Society Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ. Feb 2025.
Synovial fluid breaks down during daily reciprocating sliding frictional contact in immature bovine cartilage
Engineering a three-dimensional multilayer multicellular model of endometrial cancer for high throughput drug screening and novel treatment methods
During my time at the Fogg Lab, at Oregon State University I was part of two main studies. This study presents the development of a novel three-dimensional (3D) multilayer, multicellular hydrogel model of endometrial cancer for high-throughput drug screening. By incorporating extracellular matrix components and both cancer and endothelial cells, the model more accurately mimics the tumor microenvironment than traditional platforms like Matrigel. It was used to compare drug efficacy between free and nanoparticle-encapsulated Paclitaxel, demonstrating enhanced cancer cell response and model utility in evaluating targeted therapies.
Cadena IA., Rowlands C., Buchanan M., Keefe B., Almer A., Obasi N., Harris CG., Rochefort WE., Givens BE., Fogg KC. Engineering a three-dimensional multilayer multicellular model of endometrial cancer for high throughput drug screening and novel treatment methods. bioRxiv, 2024 Feb 23. doi: 10.1101/2024.02.20.581239Does Fixation Method Affect the Correlation of mRUST and Healing Strength?
During an internship at the SLOCUM Foundation in Eugene Oregon, I participated in research which assessed the accuracy of the modified Radiographic Union Scale in Tibial Fractures (mRUST) in predicting biomechanical healing strength across different fixation methods in an ovine model. While mRUST showed strong interobserver reliability (ICC = 0.93), it aligned more accurately with actual biomechanical healing in relatively stable fixations (9/12 cases) than in rigid fixations (5/12 cases). The findings suggest that although mRUST is a reliable clinical tool, its predictive accuracy may be compromised when evaluating fractures treated with rigid fixation.
Fitzpatrick DC., Benda J., Obasi N., Owen E., Rezell T., Sheerin., Weatherby D., Wilkinson B., Bottlang M. Does Fixation Method Affect the Correlation of mRUST and Healing Strength? Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Seattle, WA. October 2023.A heterogeneous pharmaco-transcriptomic landscape induced by targeting a single oncogenic kinase
During my time at the Chemical Genomics Lab at Columbia University, I contributed to a project that used highly multiplex single-cell chemical genomics to analyze the molecular response of glioblastoma (GBM) to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors. As part of this work, I employed CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing techniques to perturb key genes within the EGFR signaling pathway. The study identified distinct transcriptional programs associated with different EGFR inhibitors, revealing how drug-specific features, such as modulation of immunogenic gene expression, can influence treatment efficacy and potentially enhance T-cell targeting of GBM cells. This work provided a deeper understanding of drug-specific molecular responses in GBM therapy.
Giglio, R.M., Hou, N., Wyatt, A., Hong, J., Shi, L., Vaikunthan, M., Fuchs, H., Obasi, N., Lu, V., Pomarino Nima, J., Malinowski, S.W., Ligon, K.L., McFaline-Figueroa, J.R., Yosef, N., Azizi, E., McFaline-Figueroa, J.L., A Heterogeneous Pharmaco-transcriptomic Landscape Induced by Targeting a Single Oncogenic Kinase. Under Review. June 2024.