July 7, 2023 Faculty Focus: Corinne Henak Written By: Caitlin Scott Departments: Mechanical Engineering Categories: Faculty Corinne Henak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and runs the Henak Lab. Her lab’s research vision is to drive fundamental knowledge generation and tool development to improve quality of life, specifically focused on the burden of musculoskeletal diseases in humans and animals. View Prof. Henak’s faculty research video feature >> Mechanical Engineering Research – Corinne Henak Close Video Her group is currently working to develop tools for the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage osteoarthritis based on gaining a better understanding of cartilage disease. IN TECHNICAL TERMS What one project are you most excited about working on right now? One exciting project that we are currently working on is measuring the oxidative-reductive (redox) balance in articular cartilage using fluorescence microscopy. Loosely, redox balance is a measure of the relative amounts of oxidants versus antioxidants. This balance becomes imbalanced in many disease states, including in osteoarthritis. Our prior research has shown that cartilage redox balance shifts in response to physiological mechanical loading and to mechanical overloading. We are now working on better capturing the environment that cartilage is exposed to in the joint. To that end, graduate student Jingyi Wang built a microscope-top device that allows us to quantify the combined effects of oxygen concentration and mechanical loading on redox balance. Using this device, we plan to improve our understanding of the role of redox balance in cartilage disease. We also see this as a platform through which to evaluate treatments for cartilage damage, such as antioxidants or senolytics. What do you think the impact will be on tech and society? The intended impact of this research is two-fold. First, we plan to advance our basic understanding of redox biology in articular cartilage. Second, we plan to develop tools to use optical redox measures for diagnosing early-stage osteoarthritis and targeting treatment based on disease stage.