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Sarah Elizabeth Gullbrand, PhD
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Research Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
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Department: Orthopaedic Surgery
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Contact information
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Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center
1a 3900 Woodland Ave.
31 Research, A214
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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1a 3900 Woodland Ave.
31 Research, A214
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Office: 203-260-3089
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Publications
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Links
e2 Search PubMed for articles
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e2 Search PubMed for articles
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Education:
21 7 BS 23 (Biomedical Engineering) c
3a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , 2009.
21 8 PhD 23 (Biomedical Engineering) c
3a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , 2014.
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Permanent link21 7 BS 23 (Biomedical Engineering) c
3a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , 2009.
21 8 PhD 23 (Biomedical Engineering) c
3a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , 2014.
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83 Medical Center, with a co-appointment as a Research Assistant Professor in the McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory in the
84 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. As a graduate student, I was awarded a National Science
86 Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue my thesis research on enhancing intervertebral disc nutrition as a potential
8b therapeutic strategy for the treatment of disc degeneration. My thesis work with Dr. Eric Ledet illustrated for the first time that
85 convective transport induced by mechanical loading can enhance the uptake and clearance of small molecules in the healthy and
87 degenerative disc. This work was awarded the 2015 ISSLS Prize for Lumbar Spine Research in Bioengineering, the most prestigious
8b award in the field of spine research. My postdoctoral research with Dr. Robert Mauck at the University of Pennsylvania furthered my
90 interests in disc regeneration and was focused on evaluating novel tissue engineered therapeutics for disc degeneration in translational
85 animal models. This work was supported by a VA Career Development Award (CDA-1), and our publication on the long-term in vivo
8c evaluation of a tissue engineered disc replacement in Science Translational Medicine was featured by numerous news outlets including
85 the Philadelphia Inquirer and Popular Science. My transition to independent faculty was supported by a VA RR&D CDA-2 Award to
8e study the contribution of vertebral endplate remodeling and altered disc nutrition on the progression of disc degeneration. My current
8a research interests, supported by NIH and VA awards, include studying crosstalk between the intervertebral disc and adjacent spinal
8c tissues (including the vertebral bone and facet joints) during degeneration, and translating new tissue engineering and regenerative
58 medicine therapeutics for the treatment of disc degeneration and disc herniation.
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Description of Research Expertise
90 I am currently a Research Scientist in the Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA83 Medical Center, with a co-appointment as a Research Assistant Professor in the McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory in the
84 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. As a graduate student, I was awarded a National Science
86 Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue my thesis research on enhancing intervertebral disc nutrition as a potential
8b therapeutic strategy for the treatment of disc degeneration. My thesis work with Dr. Eric Ledet illustrated for the first time that
85 convective transport induced by mechanical loading can enhance the uptake and clearance of small molecules in the healthy and
87 degenerative disc. This work was awarded the 2015 ISSLS Prize for Lumbar Spine Research in Bioengineering, the most prestigious
8b award in the field of spine research. My postdoctoral research with Dr. Robert Mauck at the University of Pennsylvania furthered my
90 interests in disc regeneration and was focused on evaluating novel tissue engineered therapeutics for disc degeneration in translational
85 animal models. This work was supported by a VA Career Development Award (CDA-1), and our publication on the long-term in vivo
8c evaluation of a tissue engineered disc replacement in Science Translational Medicine was featured by numerous news outlets including
85 the Philadelphia Inquirer and Popular Science. My transition to independent faculty was supported by a VA RR&D CDA-2 Award to
8e study the contribution of vertebral endplate remodeling and altered disc nutrition on the progression of disc degeneration. My current
8a research interests, supported by NIH and VA awards, include studying crosstalk between the intervertebral disc and adjacent spinal
8c tissues (including the vertebral bone and facet joints) during degeneration, and translating new tissue engineering and regenerative
58 medicine therapeutics for the treatment of disc degeneration and disc herniation.
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179 Emily E. Sharp, Marcia Muerner, Barbora Kubincova, Junxuan Ma, Emily S. Cook, Sarah E. Gullbrand, Robert L. Mauck, Sibylle Grad: Durability And Impact Of Annulus Fibrosus Repair With Functionalized Hydrogels Under Loading. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(899), 2026.
164 Brianna S. Orozco, Alexandra J. Baranyai, Matthew Fainor, Mohamed Habib, Aaron J. Fields, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Comparison Of Transport Properties Between Human And Tissue-engineered Vertebral Endplates. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society 892, 2026.
195 Janai Augustin, Kevin Burt, Caitlin Barrett, Harvey E. Smith, Robert L. Mauck, Thomas P. Schaer, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Correlates With Neuroinflammation In A Translational Large Animal Model. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopeadic Research Society(289), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
78 Janai Augustin, Kevin Burt, Matthew Fainor, Brianna S. Orozco, Sung Yeon Kim 122 ,Carla R. Scanzello, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Synovium-cartilage Crosstalk In Facet Joint Osteoarthritis And Correlations With Adjacent Disc Degeneration. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(245), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
16a Pushpak Pondugula, Tristan Pepper, Christine Lee, Lauren Foster, Jay M. Patel, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Injectable Tissue Penetrating Hyaluronic Acid (iTP-HA) Protects Against Early Facet Cartilage Degeneration. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(2237), 2026.
17d Austin C. Jenk, Brendan Stoeckl, Emily Cook, Emily Sharp, Eric Schweppe, Liane M. Miller, Sarah E. Gullbrand, Robert L. Mauck: Therapeutic NAC-delivering Microgels Maintain Chondrocyte Viability After Cartilage Impact Injury. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(1912), 2026.
158 Matthew Fainor, Alexandra J. Baranyai, Robert L. Mauck, Harvey E. Smith, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Il-1beta Does Not Exacerbate Cell Death In A Large-scale Tissue-engineered Intervertebral Disc. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(1757), 2026.
16a Matthew Fainor, Hunter Levis, Alexandra J. Baranyai, Robby D. Bowles, Sarah E. Gullbrand: CRISPR Regulation Of Noggin For Growth-factor-free Vertebral Endplate Tissue Engineering. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(160), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
1a3 Lola Uliano, Kevin G. Burt, Elisabeth A. Lemmon, Janai Augustin, Carla R. Scanzello, Sarah Gullbrand, Kim Agnello, Robert L. Mauck: Imaging Mass Cytometry Reveals a Dynamic Synovial Cellular Landscape in Canine Cruciate Ligament Disease. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(128), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
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Selected Publications
143 Janai A Augustin, Kevin G Burt, Caitlin Barrett, Matthew Fainor, Brianna S Orozco, Thomas P Schaer, Harvey E Smith, Robert L Mauck, Sarah E Gullbrand: Neuroimmune Activation in a Goat Model of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration. Cells 15(3): 286, 2026.179 Emily E. Sharp, Marcia Muerner, Barbora Kubincova, Junxuan Ma, Emily S. Cook, Sarah E. Gullbrand, Robert L. Mauck, Sibylle Grad: Durability And Impact Of Annulus Fibrosus Repair With Functionalized Hydrogels Under Loading. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(899), 2026.
164 Brianna S. Orozco, Alexandra J. Baranyai, Matthew Fainor, Mohamed Habib, Aaron J. Fields, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Comparison Of Transport Properties Between Human And Tissue-engineered Vertebral Endplates. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society 892, 2026.
195 Janai Augustin, Kevin Burt, Caitlin Barrett, Harvey E. Smith, Robert L. Mauck, Thomas P. Schaer, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Correlates With Neuroinflammation In A Translational Large Animal Model. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopeadic Research Society(289), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
78 Janai Augustin, Kevin Burt, Matthew Fainor, Brianna S. Orozco, Sung Yeon Kim 122 ,Carla R. Scanzello, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Synovium-cartilage Crosstalk In Facet Joint Osteoarthritis And Correlations With Adjacent Disc Degeneration. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(245), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
16a Pushpak Pondugula, Tristan Pepper, Christine Lee, Lauren Foster, Jay M. Patel, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Injectable Tissue Penetrating Hyaluronic Acid (iTP-HA) Protects Against Early Facet Cartilage Degeneration. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(2237), 2026.
17d Austin C. Jenk, Brendan Stoeckl, Emily Cook, Emily Sharp, Eric Schweppe, Liane M. Miller, Sarah E. Gullbrand, Robert L. Mauck: Therapeutic NAC-delivering Microgels Maintain Chondrocyte Viability After Cartilage Impact Injury. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(1912), 2026.
158 Matthew Fainor, Alexandra J. Baranyai, Robert L. Mauck, Harvey E. Smith, Sarah E. Gullbrand: Il-1beta Does Not Exacerbate Cell Death In A Large-scale Tissue-engineered Intervertebral Disc. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(1757), 2026.
16a Matthew Fainor, Hunter Levis, Alexandra J. Baranyai, Robby D. Bowles, Sarah E. Gullbrand: CRISPR Regulation Of Noggin For Growth-factor-free Vertebral Endplate Tissue Engineering. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(160), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
1a3 Lola Uliano, Kevin G. Burt, Elisabeth A. Lemmon, Janai Augustin, Carla R. Scanzello, Sarah Gullbrand, Kim Agnello, Robert L. Mauck: Imaging Mass Cytometry Reveals a Dynamic Synovial Cellular Landscape in Canine Cruciate Ligament Disease. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society(128), 2026 Notes: Podium presentation.
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