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Brian Diekman, PhD, is a UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center member and an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Diekman’s research focuses on the effects of cellular senescence on regenerative capacity and tumorigenesis.

PhD
Assistant Professor; Member, Thurston Arthritis Research Center
UNC-Chapel Hill
Biomedical Engineering

Area of interest

Diekman has established a research laboratory that utilizes regenerative medicine technologies to develop novel therapeutic approaches for osteoarthritis. One goal of the lab is to use engineered cartilage tissue as a model system to understand the mechanisms by which aging contributes to cartilage dysfunction and to screen for drugs that prevent cartilage dysfunction. The lab also uses genome editing of stem cells to investigate the genetic risk factors for osteoarthritis. In addition to experiments with cultured cells, work with rodent models allows the lab to test the feasibility of interventions designed to increase the regenerative capacity of cartilage tissue after injury.

Awards and Honors

  • 2016 elected Co-chair, 2018 Gordon Research Seminar, Musculoskeletal Biology and Bioengineering
  • 2015 – 2017 F32 (NIH NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship / National Institute on Aging)
  • Participant, 23rd Annual Summer Training Course in Experimental Aging Research 2015
  • Fulbright Student Fellowship, Ireland, 2005- 2006
  • Professional Development and Service Conference assistant, Keystone Regenerative Tissue Engineering and Organ Transplantation, 2012-
  • 2011 Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Young Investigator Award
  • 2008 – 2010 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP award)
  • 2005 – 2006 Fulbright Student Fellowship, Regenerative Medicine Institute, Galway, Ireland