About Dr. Charles H. Turner

Katharina M. Kirschner is a second-year PhD student under the mentorship of Erica Clinkenbeard, PhD, in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biomedicine from University of Bonn (Germany). Kirschner joined the Indiana BioMedical Gateway Program at IU School of Medicine in 2022 and Clinkenbeard’s lab in 2023. Her research focuses on improving the understanding of chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) by investigating the critical influence of iron deficiency-related mechanisms and CKD macrophages on cell differentiation in the bone marrow. 

Title: Macrophage polarization and bone homeostasis during chronic kidney disease

Authors: Katharina M. Kirschner, Jordan A. Matz, Huda Mahmood, Leslie D. Santos, Erica L. Clinkenbeard

Conference: AIMM meeting (April 8-12, 2024) in Snowmass, Colorado

Roy Choi is a late-stage PhD candidate under the guidance of Alexander Robling, PhD, in the Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Roy earned his BS in biological sciences from Chonnam National University, and a MSc in biomedical science from Kyungpook National University (Republic of Korea). He joined Dr. Robling’s lab in 2018, and his main work is focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of action in Wnt signaling antagonists, with the ultimate goal of harnessing them for use in translational medicine. One of his main interests is developing combinational strategies to antagonize Wnt inhibitors, to improve upon current clinical options for osteoanabolic treatments, particularly in the aging skeleton. Further, Roy is interested in identifying new molecular targets to improve musculoskeletal health in a variety of disease contexts, and also in expanding our understanding of underlying mechanisms of disease. 

Title : Development of inhibitors to accessory Wnt antagonists for synergistic osteoanabolic action 

Authors : Roy B Choi, Alexander G Robling

Rafiou Agoro holds a PhD degree from the University of Orléans (France). After his PhD graduation in 2016, he moved to New York University to study the role of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) in the anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD). After this fellowship at NYU, he joined Dr. Ken White’s lab at IU School of Medicine in March 2019 to determine the molecular mechanisms that regulate bone FGF23 in common and rare metabolic bone diseases.

Title of research: Leveraging a single cell RNA sequencing approach to unravel osteoblast/osteocyte heterogeneity and disease implications

Authors: Rafiou Agoro, Megan L. Noonan, Hongyu Gao, Yamil G. Marambio, William R. Thompson, Xiaoling Xuei, Yunlong Liu, Alexander G. Robling, Lynda F. Bonewald and Kenneth E. White 

Conference: ORS Musculoskeletal Biology Workshop (July 23-27, 2022) in Snowbird, UT

 

Julián Balanta-Melo received his PhD in 2019 from Universidad de Chile in dental sciences. His research work was focused on the effects of experimental masticatory muscle paralysis on craniofacial bones quality in a preclinical model. As a dentist pursuing bone biology training, Balanta-Melo joined Dr. Plotkin's Lab and Dr. Bonetto's Lab, at Indiana University School of Medicine as postdoctoral fellow in 2021. While working with Dr. Andrea Bonetto, Balanta-Melo has been interested in applying craniofacial phenomics to further understand how the masticatory muscles are impacted by cancer cachexia status and the value of the anthropometric data as diagnostic/prognostic tests. Collaboration with the IU School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery has made possible to conduct clinical research in the context of head and neck cancer. Balanta-Melo's long-term goal is to strengthen his career as a research professor at the Universidad del Valle School of Dentistry (Colombia) and to conduct clinical and translational research aiming to explore the unique traits of the mammalian craniofacial structures. 

Title of research: Masseter thickness index as an anthropometric prognostic biomarker in head & neck cancer cachexia: A retrospective pilot study

Authors: Julián Balanta-Melo, Alexander J. Jones, Michael G. Moore, Andrea Bonetto

Conference: AIMM meeting (April 4-9, 2022) in Snowmass, Colorado

 

Christian S. Wright received his PhD in 2017 from Purdue University in nutritional science. His dissertation work addressed the effects of dietary protein and dietary patterning on bone morphology and metabolism during energy restriction in both older adults and animal models. Seeking basic molecular biomechanics training to compliment his clinical nutrition background, Wright joined the lab of William R. Thompson, DPT, PhD, at Indiana University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2017. While working with Thompson, Wright’s work has focused on the contribution of the voltage-sensitive calcium channel auxiliary subunit α₂δ₁ on skeletal development, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, and mechanotransduction. Wright’s long-term goal is to conduct clinical and translational animal research that examines the impact of both nutrition and mechanical signaling on bone.

Title: Osteocyte-specific deletion of the auxiliary α₂δ₁ voltage sensitive calcium channel subunit impairs femur strength and load-induced bone formation

Authors: Christian S. Wright, Katlyn Semon, Artur Schneider, Molly Pederson, Xin Yi, Julia M. Hum, Mary C. Farach-Carson, Alexander G. Robling, William R. Thompson

For the first time, two recipients of the Charles H. Turner Young Investigator Bone Research Award were named in 2019.

Adam Ferrari is a master’s degree student working on his research thesis under the supervision of Delgado-Calle, PhD, in the hematology/oncology division at Indiana University School of Medicine. Prior to his master’s work, Ferrari received his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of Southern Indiana. His research project studies the effects of a novel bone-targeted Notch inhibitor on the growth of multiple myeloma cancer cells in the bone marrow and the associated bone destruction. He hopes that his research will improve understanding of the role of Notch signaling in multiple myeloma progression and provide new avenues to stop multiple myeloma growth and its deleterious effects on bone health.

Title: Disruption of Notch Signaling targeted to the myeloma bone marrow microenvironment simultaneously inhibits tumor growth and prevents bone loss without inducing gut toxicity

Authors: Adam Ferrari, Kevin McAndrews, Jessica Nelson, James Bell, Venkatesan Srinivasan, Frank H. Ebetino, Robert K. Boeckman Jr, G. David Roodman, Teresita Bellido, Jesus Delgado-Calle

Megan Noonan is a third-year PhD student under the mentorship of Kenneth White, PhD, in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. Noonan earned her Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Ball State University and a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Georgetown University. Prior to starting her PhD, Noonan spent two years at the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research as a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) fellow under Marian F. Young, PhD, where she studied the role of biglycan during fracture repair. Noonan joined the Indiana BioMedical Gateway Program at IU School of Medicine in 2016 and White’s lab in 2017. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive the phosphaturic hormone fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) in heritable and acquired disorders of mineral metabolism. Her research is supported by a NIH-T32 HL007910 pre-doctoral fellowship.

Title: Intravenous EPO and HIF-PHDi in treating CKD-related anemia and control of circulating FGF23

Authors: Megan L. Noonan, Erica L. Clinkenbeard, Pu Ni, William R. Thompson, Kenneth E. White

Hannah Davis is a third-year PhD candidate working within the Plotkin Lab at IU School of Medicine under Lilian Plotkin, PhD. Prior to beginning her PhD program, Hannah earned a BS in Biology from IU Bloomington. Her research is focused on identifying the mechanisms and signaling molecules that link osteocyte apoptosis to osteoclast differentiation in connexin 43 deficiency and aging. She hopes that her work will provide insights into the mechanisms governing targeted osteoclast resorption, allowing for the development of novel therapeutics for preserving the structure and strength of the aging skeleton.

Title: Reduced osteocyte apoptosis and preservation of cortical bone quality with advanced age in mice with osteocytic Cx43 overexpression

Authors: Hannah M. Davis, Mohommad W. Aref, Alexandra Aguilar-Perez, Rafael Pacheco-Costa, Kimberly Allen, Sinai Valdez, Carmen Herrera, Emily G. Atkinson, Arwa Mohommad, David Lopez, Marie A. Harris, Stephen E. Harris, Teresita Bellido, Lilian I. Plotkin

Trupti Trivedi received her PhD in 2014 from Concord Clinical School, University of Sydney, Australia. Her area of research involved the role of vitamin D receptor (VDR) in human breast cancer and its growth in bone. To study bone metastases in detail, she came to IU School of Medicine to work under Theresa Guise, MD as a research scholar during her PhD studies. While working in Guise’s lab, Trivedi’s work has been focused on the role excess TGF-β1 mediated high bone turnover associated with skeletal muscle weakness in a mouse model of metabolic bone disease.

Title: Impact of high bone turnover on skeletal muscle weakness in mouse model of Camurati-Engelmann Disease

Authors: Trupti Trivedi, Jenna N. Regan, David L. Waning, Sutha John, Yun She, Sreemala Murthy, Khalid S. Mohammad and Theresa A. Guise

Kyung Shin Kang received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH, South Korea) in 2013. He joined the lab of Alexander Robilng, PhD, within the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at IU School of Medicine  in order to develop his skills in mechanotransduction techniques. Kang’s long-term goal is to better understand anabolic effects of mechanical stimulation on bone remodeling. In addition, he is interested in utilizing 3D culture models to study bone cell metabolism.

Title: Osteoclast-selective expression of Lrp5-HBM-causing mutations alters bone metabolism

Authors: Kyung Shin Kang and Alexander G. Robling

Erica L. Clinkenbeard received a PhD degree from University of Kentucky, focusing on the porto-central gene regulation of hepatic alpha-fetoprotein by β-catenin as well as the role of hepatic zinc-finger homeobox 2 (Zhx2) in atherosclerosis incidence. Clinkenbeard joined the lab of Ken White, PhD, at Indiana University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2012 where she is studying the regulation of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) in common and rare disorders of metabolic bone disease.

Title: Anemia and FGF23: identification of a novel mediator of phosphate metabolism

Authors: Erica L. Clinkenbeard, Keith R. Stayrook, Colin Ip, Taryn A. Cass, Lelia J. Summers, Mircea Ivan, Ernestina Schipani, Thomas L. Clemens, Kenneth E. White

Perla C. Reyes Fernandez graduated from the Autonoma University of Queretaro (Mexico) in 2006 with a BSc degree in Nutrition Science. She entered the Interdepartmental Nutrition PhD Program at Purdue University in 2010 where she joined the laboratory of James Fleet, PhD. Her PhD program has a Molecular and Biochemical Nutrition emphasis. Her dissertation is focused on identifying natural genetic variants that modulate the response of bone strength and structure to dietary calcium restriction.

Title: Duodenal Ca Absorption Increases to Compensate for the Loss of Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) from the Large Intestine and Kidney of Mice

Authors: Perla C. Reyes-Fernandez and James C. Fleet

Pierre P. Eleniste received a PhD degree from Northern Illinois University with a research emphasis on the production of stereoselective antibodies and their application as “tailor-made” chiral selectors in affinity techniques. In 2009, he joined the laboratory of Angela Bruzzaniti, PhD, in the Department of Oral Biology at the Indiana University School of Dentistry. He performs research in the area of bone biology by identifying and characterizing key intracellular signaling proteins that are critical for osteoclast, osteoblast and osteocyte activities.

Title: Novel Role for Dynamin Phosphorylation and GTPase Activity in Osteoblast Migration

Authors: Pierre P. Eleniste, Su Huang and Angela Bruzzaniti

Julia Humm graduated from Saint Mary’s College with a degree in Biology in 2007. She entered the Indiana University School of Medicine’s BioMedical Gateway PhD program in 2008 and joined the laboratory of Fredrick Pavalko, PhD, in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology in the summer of 2009. The primary goal of her PhD research was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying intergrin-mediated signaling that mediate bone’s response to mechanical loading.

Title: Live Imaging of Src Activation in Osteocytes in Response to Mechanotransduction

Authors: Julia M. Hum, Suzanne R.L. Young, Richard N. Day, and Fredrick M. Pavalko

Julia Humm graduated from Saint Mary’s College with a degree in Biology in 2007. She entered the Indiana University School of Medicine’s BioMedical Gateway PhD program in 2008 and joined the laboratory of Fredrick Pavalko, PhD, in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology in the summer of 2009. The primary goal of her PhD research was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying intergrin-mediated signaling that mediate bone’s response to mechanical loading.

Title: Live Imaging of Src Activation in Osteocytes in Response to Mechanotransduction

Authors: Julia M. Hum, Suzanne R.L. Young, Richard N. Day and Fredrick M. Pavalko