Shyni Varghese

Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

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

• 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

• 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].
• 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].
• 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].
• Newman, H; Varghese, S, Extracellular adenosine signaling in bone health and disease., Curr Opin Pharmacol, vol 70 (2023) [10.1016/j.coph.2023.102378] [abs].
• Rana, I; Kataria, S; Tan, TL; Hajam, EY; Kashyap, DK; Saha, D; Ajnabi, J; Paul, S; Jayappa, S; Ananthan, ASHP; Kumar, P; Zaarour, RF; Haarshaadri, J; Kansagara, G; Rizvi, A; Zirmire, RK; Badarinath, K; Khedkar, SU; Chandra, Y; Samuel, R; George, R; Danda, D; Jacob, PM; Dey, R; Dhandapany, PS; He, Y-W; Varga, J; Varghese, S; Jamora, C, Mindin (SPON2) Is Essential for Cutaneous Fibrogenesis in a Mouse Model of Systemic Sclerosis., J Invest Dermatol, vol 143 no. 5 (2023), pp. 699-710.e10 [10.1016/j.jid.2022.10.011] [abs].