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 Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
• 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

• BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 494: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
• BME 590: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
• BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
• BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
• EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
• ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• NEUROSCI 493: Research Independent Study 1
• NEUROSCI 494: Research Independent Study 2

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

• Guo, W; Hoque, J; Garcia Garcia, CJ; Spiller, KV; Leinroth, AP; Puviindran, V; Potnis, CK; Gunn, KA; Newman, H; Ishikawa, K; Fujimoto, TN; Neill, DW; Delahoussaye, AM; Williams, NT; Kirsch, DG; Hilton, MJ; Varghese, S; Taniguchi, CM; Wu, C, Radiation-induced bone loss in mice is ameliorated by inhibition of HIF-2α in skeletal progenitor cells., Sci Transl Med, vol 15 no. 724 (2023) [10.1126/scitranslmed.abo5217] [abs].
• Shih, Y-RV; Kingsley, D; Newman, H; Hoque, J; Gupta, A; Lascelles, BDX; Varghese, S, Multi-Functional Small Molecule Alleviates Fracture Pain and Promotes Bone Healing., Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden Wurttemberg, Germany) (2023) [10.1002/advs.202303567] [abs].
• Gonzales, G; Zauscher, S; Varghese, S, Progress in the design and synthesis of viscosupplements for articular joint lubrication, Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, vol 66 (2023) [10.1016/j.cocis.2023.101708] [abs].
• Cigliola, V; Shoffner, A; Lee, N; Ou, J; Gonzalez, TJ; Hoque, J; Becker, CJ; Han, Y; Shen, G; Faw, TD; Abd-El-Barr, MM; Varghese, S; Asokan, A; Poss, KD, Spinal cord repair is modulated by the neurogenic factor Hb-egf under direction of a regeneration-associated enhancer., Nature Communications, vol 14 no. 1 (2023) [10.1038/s41467-023-40486-5] [abs].
• Aung, A; Davey, SK; Theprungsirikul, J; Kumar, V; Varghese, S, Deciphering the Mechanics of Cancer Spheroid Growth in 3D Environments through Microfluidics Driven Mechanical Actuation., Adv Healthc Mater, vol 12 no. 14 (2023) [10.1002/adhm.202201842] [abs].