As a Biomedical Engineer, at the forefront of research in bone biomechanics in the field of microstructural imaging and mechanobiology, my research profile has been shaped by extensive training, opportunities, and fruitful collaborations with international research groups.
My research is focused on advancing our understanding of bone biomechanics and mechanobiology, with a particular focus on the bone microstructure and its implications for health and disease. Central to my work is the investigation of how aging, disease processes, and therapeutic interventions influence the complex structural features of bone tissue, with a special emphasis on the osteocyte lacunocanalicular network.
By leveraging cutting-edge high-resolution 3D imaging techniques such as high-resolution microcomputed tomography, electron and confocal microscopy, along with materials science-based methodologies, classical bone biology approaches, as well as biomechanical computational modelling, I’ve made advances in uncovering the intricate mechanisms underlying bone loss, particularly in conditions such as aging (osteoporosis) and bone metastases.
Key Achievements
2022 Hamburg Cancer Society Award (Article Award)
2020-2022 Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Germany)
2013-2018 The Joint Doctorate Program MOVE-AGE Research Fellow (The European Union’s Erasmus Mundus programme)
Bone Cell Biology & Disease
We study the cells inside the skeleton that control bone strength so we can design better ways of treating bone diseases like osteoporosis.
Lab head: Professor Natalie SimsSelected publications
Nie T, Venkatesh VS, Golub S, Stok KS, Hemmatian H, Desai R, Handelsman DJ, Zajac JD, Grossmann M, Davey R. (2024) Estradiol increases cortical and trabecular bone accrual and bone strength in an adolescent male-to-female mouse model of gender-affirming hormone therapy. Bone Res 12, 1. doi: 10.1038/s41413-023-00308-2
Hemmatian H, Conrad S, Furesi G, Mletzko K, Krug J, Faila AV, Kuhlmann JD, Rauner M, Busse B, Jähn-Rickert K. (2021) Reorganization of the osteocyte lacuno-canalicular network characteristics in tumor sites of an immunocompetent murine model of osteotropic cancers, Bone. 152, 116074. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2021.116074. (Award-winning paper)
Hemmatian H, Bakker AD, Klein-Nulend J, van Lenthe GH. (2021) Alterations in osteocyte lacunar morphology affect local bone tissue strains. J. Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 123, 104730. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104730
Hemmatian H, Jalali R, Semeins CM, Hogervorst JMA, van Lenthe GH, Klein-Nulend J, Bakker AD. (2018) Mechanical loading differentially affects osteocytes in fibulae from lactating mice compared to osteocytes in virgin mice: possible role for lacuna size. Calcif Tissue Int, 103(6):675-685. doi: 10.1007/s00223-018-0463-8
Hemmatian H, Laurent MR, Vanderschueren D, Bakker AD, Klein-Nulend J, van Lenthe GH. (2018) Age-related changes in female murine cortical bone microporosity. Bone. 113:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2018.05.003
Hemmatian H, Bakker AD, Klein-Nulend J, van Lenthe GH. (2017) Aging, osteocytes, and mechanotransduction. (Invited Review) Curr Osteoporos Rep 15(5): 401–411. doi:10.1007/s11914-017-0402-z
Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=E60bwrUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao