Dr. Tuan directs a multidisciplinary research program that focuses on orthopaedic research as a study of the biological activities underlying the development, growth, function, and health of skeletal tissues, and the utilization of this knowledge to develop cell-based technologies that will regenerate and/or restore function to diseased and damaged skeletal tissues. Ongoing research projects are directed towards skeletal development, stem cells, growth factor signaling, bone-biomaterial interaction, extracellular matrix and cell-matrix interaction, nanotechnology, mechanobiology, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering, utilizing integrated contemporary technologies of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, embryology and development, cellular imaging, and engineering.

1. Rothrauff, B.B., Shimomura, K., Gottardi, R., Alexander, P.G. & Tuan, R.S. (2017). Anatomical region-dependent enhancement of 3-dimensional chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells by soluble meniscus extracellular matrix. Acta Biomater. 49:140-151.
2. Yang, G., Rothrauff, B.B., Lin, H., Yu, S. & Tuan, R.S. (2017). Tendon-derived extracellular matrix enhances transforming growth factor-β3-induced tenogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells. Tissue Eng Part A. 23(3-4):166-176
3. Rothrauff, B.B., Yang, G. & Tuan, R.S. (2017). Tissue-specific bioactivity of soluble tendon- and cartilage-derived extracellular matrices. Stem Cell Res Ther. 5;8(1):133.
4. Sun, A.X., Lin, H., Fritch, M.R., Shen, H., Alexander, P.G., DeHart, M. & Tuan, R.S. (2017). Chondrogenesis of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in 3-dimensional, photocrosslinked hydrogel constructs: Effect of cell seeding density and material stiffness. Acta Biomater. 58:302-311.
5. Rothrauff, B.B., Lauro, B.B., Yang, G., Debski, R.E., Musahl, V. & Tuan, R.S. (2017). Braided and stacked electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds for tendon and ligament tissue engineering. Tissue Engin Part A. 23(9-10):378-389.
6. Lin, H., Tang, Y., Lozito, T.P., Oyster, N., Kang, R.B., Fritch, M.R., Wang, B. & Tuan R.S. (2017). Projection stereolithographic fabrication of BMP-2 gene-activated matrix for bone tissue engineering. Scient Rep. 7:11327.
7. Brick, R.M., Sun, A.X. & Tuan, R.S. (2018). Neurotrophically induced mesenchymal progenitor cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells enhance neuritogenesis via neurotrophin and cytokine production. Stem Cell Transl Med. 7(1):45-58.
8. Shen, H., Lin, H., Sun, A.X., Song, S., Zhang, S., Dai, J. & Tuan, R.S. (2018). Chondroinductive factor-free chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in graphene oxide-incorporated hydrogels. J Mater Chem B. 6: 908-917
9. Yang, Y., Lin, H., Shen, H., Wang, B., Lei, G. & Tuan, R.S. (2018). Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular matrix enhances chondrogenic phenotype of and cartilage formation by encapsulated chondrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Acta Biomat. 15;69:71-82.
10. Deng, Y., Sun, A.X,, Overholt, K.J., Yu, G.Z., Fritch, M.R., Alexander, P.G., Shen, H., Tuan, R.S. & Lin, H. (2019). Enhancing chondrogenesis and mechanical strength retention in physiologically relevant hydrogels with incorporation of hyaluronic acid and direct loading of TGF-β. Acta Biomater. 1;83:167-176.
11. Lin, H., Sohn, J., Shen, H., Langhans, M.T. & Tuan R.S. (2019). Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: Aging and tissue engineering applications to enhance bone healing. Biomaterials. 203:96-110.
12. Sun, A.X., Prest, T.A., Fowler, J.R., Brick, R.M., Gloss, K.M., Li, X., DeHart, M., Shen, H., Yang, G., Brown, B.N., Alexander, P.G. & Tuan, R.S. (2019). Conduits harnessing spatially controlled cell-secreted neurotrophic factors improve peripheral nerve regeneration. Biomaterials. 203:86-95.
13. Jiang, Y. & Tuan, R.S. (2019). Role of NGF-TrkA signaling in calcification of articular chondrocytes. FASEB J. 33(9):10231-10239.
14. Lin, H., Tang, Y., Lozito, T.P., Oyster, N., Wang, B. & Tuan, R.S. (2019). Efficient in vivo bone formation by BMP2 engineered human mesenchymal stem cells encapsulated in a projection stereolithographically fabricated hydrogel scaffold. Stem Cell Res Ther. 10 (1):1-13.
15. Lin, Z., Li, Z., Li, E., LI, X., Duke, C., Shen, H., Hao, T., Lei, G., Bunnell, B.A., Goodman, S.B., Alexander, P.G., Tuan, R.S. & Lin, H. (2019). Osteochondral tissue chip derived from iPSCs: Modeling osteoarthritic pathologies and testing drugs. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 7:411. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00411. eCollection 2019.
16. Lin, H., Sohn, J., Shen, H., Langhans, M.T. & Tuan, R.S. (2019). Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: Aging and tissue engineering applications to enhance bone healing. Biomaterials. 203:96-110.
17. Rothrauff, B.B., Pirosa, A., Lin, H., Sohn, J., Langhans, M.T. & Tuan, R.S. (2019). Stem cell therapy for musculoskeletal diseases. In: Atala A, Lanza R, Mikos AG, Nerem R, eds. Principles of Regenerative Medicine, Chapter 54. pp. 953-970.
18. Shen, H., Lin, H., Sun, A.X., Song, S., Wong, B., Yang, Y., Dai, J. & Tuan, R.S. (In press). Acceleration of chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells by sustained growth factor release in 3D graphene oxide incorporated hydrogels. Acta Biomateralia.