Gullbrand Laboratory

Welcome to Gullbrand Laboratory

The Gullbrand Lab studies how aberrant structure-function relationships across the spine contribute to the initiation and progression of degenerative disc disease. Our work spans multiple length scales across model systems of disease and human tissue. We probe spinal tissues by employing a suite of biomechanical and bioimaging tools, elucidating connections between tissue structure and degeneration of intervertebral discs, vertebral bones, cartilage endplates, and facet joints. Our group also focuses on utilizing this knowledge to inform the development of tissue-engineering-based approaches for disc regeneration. Central to this work, in collaboration with Harvey Smith, MD and Robert Mauck, PhD, is the translation of a whole tissue engineered intervertebral disc replacement towards clinical application in human patients. 

The Gullbrand lab is uniquely situated in the Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center at the Philadelphia Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center.

Follow us on LinkedIn: Sarah Gullbrand
Research Engineers: Matthew Fainor & Brianna Orozco
PhD Students: Emily Sharp & Janai Augustin


Dr. Gullbrand Speaks at PSRS 2024
November 13, 2024
Dr. Gullbrand spoke about our lab's large animal tissue crosstalk research during the 2024 Philadelphia Spine Research Symposium at Skytop, Pennsylvania. She gave her podium presentation entitled "Beyond the Disc: Crosstalk in the Spine During Degeneration and Repair" during the Next Generation Treatments - Crosstalk and Translation session. PhD student Janai Augustin gave a talk on work he conducted as a research technician at Mount Sinai before joining our lab during the Pain - Models, Mechanisms, and Treatments session. PhD student Emily Sharp and Research Engineer Matthew Fainor also gave poster presentations on our lab's work developing an injectable hydrogel therapy for AF herniation repair and probing the survival and retention of cell therapy in our established rabbit model of disc degeneration. Our collaborative work with PhD student Hunter Levis in the Bowles Lab at the University of Utah was awarded "Best Poster for Next Generation Therapeutics." It's always exciting and enriching for members of our lab to share their work and learn from the work of others in the spine field, and we look forward to the next PSRS!

Congratulations to Hunter Levis and Coauthors on Acta Biomaterialia Publication
November 08, 2024
Congratulations to Hunter Levis and coauthors on their latest paper out in Acta Biomaterialia today! "Targeted CRISPR Regulation of ZNF865 Enhances Stem Cell Cartilage Deposition, Tissue Maturation Rates, and Mechanical Properties in Engineered Intervertebral Discs" is the first publication from our collaborative R01 with the Bowles Lab at the University of Utah to develop more translationally-relevant eDAPS using the Bowles Lab's CRISPR gene-editing platform.

McKay DEI Committee Publishes Reflections on Learning on a Limb Outreach Program
November 07, 2024
Dr. Gullbrand, and the rest of the McKay DEI Committee, share their reflections on our multi-year Learning on a Limb Outreach Program, an immersive educational afternoon designed to expose high school students to orthopaedic research and careers in STEM, in a new publication from the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. The paper includes all our educational modules as well as 1-year follow up with 32 of our participating students.

Carnegie Mellon University Invites Dr. Gullbrand to Speak
October 10, 2024
Dr. Gullbrand was invited to speak at Carnegie Mellon's Biomedical Engineering Department seminar today where she talked about "Crosstalk Between the Intervertebral Disc and Facet Joints During Spinal Degeneration and Repair."

Bowles Lab Learns to Make eDAPS
September 23, 2024
Last week we hosted PhD students Hunter Levis and Molly Czachor from Dr. Robby Bowles Lab at the University of Utah. During their visit, Research Engineer Matthew Fainor taught Hunter and Molly how to make our lab's total tissue-engineered intervertebral disc replacements, otherwise known as eDAPS, as part of Dr. Bowles's and Dr. Gullbrand's collaborative R01 to develop more translationally-relevant eDAPS using the Bowles Lab's CRISPR gene-editing platform.

View all news

Back to Top