Shyni Varghese

Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Orthopaedics

Shyni Varghese has a triple appointment in the Duke departments of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and Orthopaedic Surgery. She is the first MEDx Investigator.

A leader in the field of biomaterials and stem cells, Varghese will develop her research at Duke in three major areas:

• Musculoskeletal tissue repair
• Disease biophysics, and
• Organ-on-a-chip technology

A new initiative of the Pratt School of Engineering and Duke School of Medicine, Duke MEDx seeks to enhance and form new collaborations between doctors and engineers.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
• Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
• Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center

Contact Information

• Email Address: shyni.varghese@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Varghese Lab

Education

• Ph.D. National Chemical Laboratory (India), 2002

Research Interests

Musculoskeletal tissue repair, disease biophysics and organ-on-a-chip technology

Courses Taught

• NEUROSCI 494: Research Independent Study 2
• NEUROSCI 493: Research Independent Study 1
• ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
• BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
• BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
• BME 590: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
• BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)

In the News

• Protecting Bones from Cancer Treatment (Dec 5, 2023 | School of Medicine)
• Organ-on-a-chip: Better Health Care Through Superior Drug Testing (Nov 24, 2021 | Duke Science & Technology)
• Soft Robotic Dragonfly Signals Environmental Disruptions (Mar 25, 2021 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• A Crystal Ball for the Decade Ahead (Jan 9, 2020)
• Engineering a Better Bandage to Promote Faster Healing (Dec 13, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Big Ideas on a Small Chip Surface (Nov 1, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Researchers ID Pharmaceutical Target That Reverses Osteoporosis in Mice (Aug 22, 2019 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Shyni Varghese: Making Miniature Models of Muscles, Bones and Tumors (Nov 18, 2016 | Pratt School of Engineering)

Representative Publications

• Gonzales, G; Hoque, J; Kaeo, C; Zauscher, S; Varghese, S, Grafting of cationic molecules to hyaluronic acid improves adsorption and cartilage lubrication., Biomater Sci, vol 12 no. 18 (2024), pp. 4747-4758 [10.1039/d4bm00532e] [abs].
• Cottrill, E; Pennington, Z; Sattah, N; Jing, C; Salven, D; Johnson, E; Downey, M; Varghese, S; Rocos, B; Richardson, W, Gene Therapy and Spinal Fusion: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Available Data., World Neurosurg, vol 186 (2024), pp. 219-234.e4 [10.1016/j.wneu.2024.03.174] [abs].
• Gonzales, G; Hoque, J; Gilpin, A; Maity, B; Zauscher, S; Varghese, S, Branched poly-l-lysine for cartilage penetrating carriers., Bioengineering & translational medicine, vol 9 no. 3 (2024) [10.1002/btm2.10612] [abs].
• Hainline, KM; Haddad, HF; Gilpin, A; Curvino, EJ; Varghese, S; Collier, JH, Active immunotherapy for C5a-mediated inflammation using adjuvant-free self-assembled peptide nanofibers., Acta Biomater, vol 179 (2024), pp. 83-94 [10.1016/j.actbio.2024.02.042] [abs].
• Price, MJ; Nguyen, AD; Haines, C; Baëta, CD; Byemerwa, J; Murkajee, D; Artham, S; Kumar, V; Lavau, C; Wardell, S; Varghese, S; Goodwin, CR, UDP-6-glucose dehydrogenase in hormonally responsive breast cancers., bioRxiv (2024) [10.1101/2024.03.20.585919] [abs].