About
Hai Yao is a professor of Bioengineering and interim director of the Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program. He also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Craniofacial Biology and the Department of Orthopaedics at the Medical University of South Carolina. He received a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami. Hai serves on or leads several expert panels, including the NIH Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) expert panel and an Engineering Panel for the National Research Council of the National Academies. His research interests include the biomechanical function, degeneration and regeneration of skeletal systems, including temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and spine intervertebral disc (IVD). Hai’s current research areas include the biomechanical mechanisms of cell-mediated tissue degeneration, novel imaging techniques for nondestructive assessment of skeletal tissue composition and structure, and interactions between mechanical, electrical, chemical and matrix-supplied cues in controlling the development of functional engineered tissues. Hai’s team contributed to the world’s first demonstration of a full synovial joint regeneration, and his research has been funded by NIH R01, R03, R21, R43, and P20 awards.
Visit Dr. Yao's Faculty Profile and Lab Website.
How their research is transforming health care
Hai’s Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory brings together the principles of biomechanics and biology and approaches research at multiscale levels, from the whole body to single cells, to provide new perspectives on skeletal tissue degeneration and regeneration processes. Much of his research focuses on Temporormandibular joint disorders (TMJD), which currently impact 35 million people in the United States yet remain poorly understood. In order to address TMJDs with early diagnoses and management methods, research into the pathophysiology of TMJ disc degeneration is needed. Hai is working to develop a novel measuring system that can lead to the ability to identify bio-indicators of TMJ disorders, allowing for early clinical diagnosis of these disorders. His group is also working to establish a multi-institutional TMJ research network.
Health Research Expertise Keywords
Faculty Scholar, Mechanobiology, Orthopaedics, Tissue Regeneration, Molecular Transport, Biomechanics
