News

10/31/2025

We are pleased to share that our recent NIH-funded research has been featured in UDaily. The project focuses on developing advanced methods to monitor bone fracture healing using MRI-based computer models.

Through this work, our team aims to improve the ability to identify impaired bone healing at earlier stages, enabling clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions and improve patient recovery outcomes. Read the full story published on UDAILY: “Engineering a clearer view of bone healing.”

10/10/2025

We are thrilled to announce that the Hast Lab recently received notification of a NIH/NIAMS R01 award entitled “Next Generation MRI for Virtual Mechanical Testing of Bone Fracture Healing.” This project will use advanced MRI and computational modeling in both animal and human tibial fracture studies to develop a powerful new tool for tracking bone repair and improving diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients with delayed or impaired fracture healing.

🔬🚀 Big things are on the horizon—stay tuned for exciting updates and breakthroughs from our lab! 💡🦴

7/18/2025

We’re proud to share that two of our undergraduate researchers, Mikul Duggal and Jada Moore, presented their work at the Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (SURCA) on August 14, 2025. Representing our lab with excellence, Mikul and Jada showcased their research through compelling poster presentations, engaging with fellow researchers, faculty, and attendees.

7/18/2025

The first annual Hast Lab Chili Cook-off was a huge success!

Congratulations to our winners!!

7/15/2025

We are happy to report that Paulina Bargallo Gonzalez Lugo will be joining the Winslow Lab in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University as a Life Science Research Professional. In this role, she will contribute to research focused on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive the initiation, progression, and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma. The lab combines CRISPR-mediated gene editing, genetically engineered mouse models, and high-throughput DNA sequencing to investigate tumor suppressor gene inactivation and cancer dynamics in vivo.
Paulina’s work will include independently designing and conducting experiments in molecular biology, mammalian cell culture, and mouse model generation, while also contributing to experimental optimization, data analysis, and manuscript preparation.

Congratulations to Paulina on this next step in her career path! The Hast Lab already misses you!!

6/10/2025

We are thrilled to celebrate the academic achievement of our lab member, Dr. Elizabeth Silvestro, who has successfully completed her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Her dedication, innovation, and hard work throughout her doctoral journey have been truly inspiring.

Dr. Silvestro was officially awarded her degree during the university’s May 15, 2025, convocation ceremony. Her research contributions have made a significant impact in the field, and we are proud to have been part of her journey.

We are equally excited to share that Dr. Silvestro has taken on a new role as the Manager of the Children’s Hospital Additive Manufacturing for Pediatrics (CHAMP) 3D Labs at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). In addition, she serves as a Research Trainee under the mentorship of Dr. Flaura K. Winston at CHOP’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP). Dr. Silvestro is also actively involved with CHOP’s Innovation Ecosystem team, the Pennsylvania Pediatric Medical Device Consortium, and the UPenn McKay Orthopedic Research Laboratory.

We are incredibly proud of Elizabeth’s continued impact in the field and congratulate her on this exciting new chapter. We wish her a fulfilling and prosperous career ahead!

Congratulations, Elizabeth, on this well-deserved milestone and your inspiring professional journey!

5/12/2025

We recently published “Degradable poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid and non-degradable polymer implants result in similar fracture healing at early timepoints” in Clinical Biomechanics. This study investigates how biodegradable implants can serve as a mechanism for gradual, passive dynamization during fracture repair. Using a rat femoral osteotomy model, we found that both degradable and non-degradable implants led to similar healing outcomes at 3 and 6 weeks, with degradable implants promoting increased bone formation over time due to in vivo degradation and load-induced stiffness reduction. Read more by clicking this link!

4/7/2025

We are excited to announce that one of our lab members, Elizabeth Silvestro, will be defending her doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation, titled “Design and Development of Biofidelic Simulation Trainers for Pediatric Knee Effusion Assessment,” focuses on the creation of realistic simulation tools to improve clinical assessment techniques in pediatric orthopedics.

The defense will take place on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM in the CHOP HUB for Clinical Collaboration Auditorium (Room 01-1620), with virtual attendance available via Microsoft Teams. The defense committee is co-chaired by Drs. Flaura Koplin Winston and Michael Hast.

We look forward to supporting Elizabeth as she will present her impactful research and move forward in the final stages of her PhD journey!!

4/4/2025

We are excited to announce that two members of the Hast Lab, Hisham Omar and Rachel Bonfini, will be presenting their research at the 2025 Musculoskeletal Research Symposium on Friday, April 11, 2025, at the UD North Atrium, STAR Campus. This symposium is co-sponsored by the Delaware Center for Musculoskeletal Research (DCMR) and the Center for Biomechanical Engineering Research (CBER).

Hisham Omar – Podium Presentation

• Session: Podium Session #1
• Time: 10:15 AM
• Title: Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Architectures Improve In Vitro Bone Growth in PCL Scaffolds
• Authors: Hisham Omar, Paulina Bargallo Gonzalez Lugo, Rachel Bonfini, Matthew Fainor, Sarah E. Gullbrand, Michael W. Hast
• Teaser: Can innovative scaffold designs enhance bone regeneration? This study investigates TPMS-based PCL scaffolds for critical-sized defect repair, combining mechanical testing, micro-CT analysis, and in vitro assessments.

Rachel Bonfini – Flash Talk & Poster Presentation

• Flash Talk Time: 11:15 AM
• Poster Presentation Time: 12:45 PM Session#1
• Title: Effects of Engineered Surface Roughness on Additively Manufactured Zinc for Orthopaedic Implants
• Author: Rachel Bonfini, Jacklyn Griffis, Stephen Ching, Kazi Shahed, Guha Manogharan, Michael Hast
• Teaser: Can biodegradable metals revolutionize orthopedic implants? Our research explores how 3D-printed zinc, engineered with tailored surface textures, can enhance bone healing and eliminate the need for implant removal. Discover how additive manufacturing meets regenerative medicine.

We congratulate Hisham and Rachel on their accepted abstracts and look forward to their contributions to musculoskeletal research!

3/7/2025

We are thrilled to announce that our abstract, “Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Architecture Improves Bone Growth in 3D Printed Polycaprolactone Scaffolds,” has been selected for a podium presentation at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS), scheduled for June 16–19, 2025, in Davos, Switzerland.3/7/2025

3/7/2025

We are thrilled to welcome Isabel Kehoe-Huck, who joined our group as an undergraduate student last week in Spring 2025!

2/5/2025

Three members of our Hast Lab group—Hisham Omar, Elizabeth Silvestro, and Xuanbei Pan—will be presenting their work at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2025 Annual Meeting, taking place from February 7–11 in Phoenix, AZ. Their research spans innovative topics in bone scaffolds, imaging techniques, and biomaterials.

Poster Presentations:

Hisham Omar

• Session: PS1-180 (Late Breaking Poster Session 1)
• Date/Time: Saturday, February 8, 6:45 PM – 7:30 PM
• Poster #: 2141
• Title: Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Architectures Improve In Vitro Bone Growth in PCL Scaffolds
• Authors: Hisham Omar, Paulina Bargallo Gonzalez Lugo, Rachel Bonfini, Matthew Fainor, Sarah E. Gullbrand, Michael W. Hast
• Teaser: How can advanced scaffold architectures accelerate bone healing? This study explores the role of TPMS-based PCL scaffolds in critical-sized defect repairs, combining mechanical testing, micro-CT analysis, and in vitro assessments.

Elizabeth Silvestro

• Session: PS2-113 (Imaging – Image Analyses)
• Date/Time: Monday, February 10, 6:15 PM – 7:00 PM
• Poster #: 1516
• Title: Use of Fluid: Fat Ratios in MRI-Based Evaluations of Knee Effusions Improve Diagnosis Accuracy in a Pediatric Cohort
• Authors: Elizabeth Silvestro, Iman Naqvi, Jie Nguyen, Wondwossen T. Lerebo, Flaura K. Winston, Raymond W. Sze, Michael Hast
• Teaser: Diagnosing pediatric knee effusion (fluid build-up) and related injuries can be challenging and subjective. This study introduces a novel fluid: fat ratio in MR imaging, which improves diagnostic accuracy, particularly in overweight patients, and has the potential to enhance clinical decision-making.

Xuanbei Pan

• Session: PS2-105 (Biomaterials – Controlled Release)
• Date/Time: Monday, February 10, 6:15 PM – 7:00 PM
• Poster #: 1437
• Title: Temporal Zinc Release from Hydrogels: Effects on Mechanics, Metabolic Activity, and Gene Expression
• Authors: Xuanbei Pan, Stephen Ching, Hisham Omar, Paulina Bargalló González Lugo, Michael W. Hast
• Teaser: This study explores the therapeutic effects of zinc-doped GelMA hydrogels in fracture-fixation sites. Researchers investigated how varying zinc concentrations impact hydrogel mechanics, degradation, and osteoblast differentiation, contributing to advancements in bone healing strategies.

We are excited to see our group members share their cutting-edge research at ORS 2025! Their work highlights novel approaches in orthopedic biomechanics, imaging, and biomaterials, driving forward innovation in musculoskeletal research.

For more updates on our lab’s research, stay tuned to our website! 🚀 🚀 🚀

1/17/2025

We are excited to welcome Hisham Omar, who will be joining the group as a PhD student in spring 2025!

1/7/2025

We recently published an article related to the design of absorbable implants for feline mandible fractures in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. This cadaver study in cats compared the mechanical properties of different treatments for simulated mandibular fractures, including various wiring and fixation techniques. While all treatments provided similar stabilization, none showed mechanical properties superior to the control group, with both intraoral splints and absorbable fixations demonstrating low strength and stiffness. Click this link for access to the full-length article!

1/6/2025

Congratulations to Farzad Abdi for his recent publication “Free vibration and buckling analysis of axially functionally graded tapered Timoshenko beams using B-spline-based isogeometric analysis” in Heliyon! This study applies Timoshenko beam theory and isogeometric analysis to investigate the free vibration and buckling behavior of axially functionally graded tapered beams, addressing shear locking through selectively reduced integration. The results, which account for material non-homogeneity, mass density, Young’s modulus, and taper ratio, demonstrate the method’s accuracy and reliability, offering valuable reference solutions for future research. Read more here!

12/20/2024

We recently published “Restoration of physiologic loading after engineered disc implantation mitigates immobilization-induced facet joint and paraspinal muscle degeneration” in Acta Biomaterialia. This study explores the impact of remobilization on tissue-engineered disc replacements in a goat cervical model, showing that while chronic immobilization leads to facet joint degeneration and muscle atrophy, remobilization improves disc integration and composition. Read more by clicking this link!

12/13/2024

Our article, entitled “Elastic properties of 3D printed clavicles are closer to cadaveric bones of elderly donors than commercial synthetic bones” was accepted for publication in The Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. This study compares the mechanical properties of 3D-printed clavicle models to commercially available synthetic and cadaveric clavicles. We found that, while commercial models are significantly stiffer, 3D-printed models made from BoneMatrix/VeroWhite closely mimic cadaveric clavicles in terms of failure mechanisms and ultimate load capacity. The results suggest that additive manufacturing could be a promising tool for creating more accurate bone surrogates for biomechanical testing in orthopedic research. Read more here.