Yuna Heo
Ph.D. Student in Bioengineering
University of Pennsylvania
Hometown
Buffalo, New York
Education
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, 2022
Areas of Special Interest
Biophysical cues with chromatin organization and gene expression in tenocytes; vascular extracellular matrix mechanobiology, survivin in vascular smooth muscle cell-mediated neointima formation and arterial stiffening. During my free time, I enjoy listening to music, watching movies and shows, going on walks, and spending time outdoors.
Publications
Lee SH, Li Z, Zhang E, Kim DH, Huang Z, Heo Y, Lee SJ, Kang HW, Burdick JA, Mauck RL, Heo S. (2025) Precision repair of zone-specific meniscal injuries using a tunable extracellular matrix-based hydrogel system. Bioactive Materials (Jun), 48: 400-413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2025.02.013
Mousso T, Rice K, Tumenbayar B, Pham K, Heo Y, Heo S, Lee K, Lombardo A, Bae Y. (2025) Survivin modulates stiffness-induced vascular smooth muscle cell motility. APL Bioengineering (Jun), 9 (2): 026120. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0252766
Zhang Y, Zhang E, Cheung C, Heo Y, Tumenbayar B, Lee SH, Bae Y, Heo S. (2025) Epigenetic dynamics in meniscus cell migration and its zonal dependency in response to inflammatory conditions. APL Bioengineering (Mar), 9 (1): 016109. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0239035.
Biber JC, Sullivan A, Brazzo III J, Heo Y, Tumenbayar B, Krajnik A, Poppenberg K, Tutino VM, Heo S, Kolega J, Lee K, Bae Y. (2023) Survivin as a mediator of stiffness-induced cell cycle progression and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. APL Bioengineering (Dec), 7 (4): 046108. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0150532
Krajnik A, Nimmer E, Brazzo JA, Biber JC, Drewes R, Tumenbayar BI, Sullivan A, Pham K, Krug A, Heo Y, Kolega J, Heo S, Lee K, Weil BR, Kim DH, Gupte SA, Bae Y. (2023) Survivin regulates intracellular stiffness and extracellular matrix production in vascular smooth muscle cells. APL Bioengineering (Dec), 7 (4): 046104. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0157549
Szigeti K, Ihnatovych I, Rosas N, Dorn RP, Notari E, Cortes Gomez E, He M, Maly I, Prasad S, Nimmer E, Heo Y, Fuchsova B, Bennett DA, Hofmann WA, Pralle A, Bae Y, Wang J. (2023) Neuronal actin cytoskeleton gain of function in the human brain. EBioMedicine (Sep), 95: 104725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104725
Brazzo JA, Biber JC, Nimmer E, Heo Y, Ying L, Zhao R, Lee K, Krause M, Bae Y. (2021) Mechanosensitive expression of lamellipodin promotes intracellular stiffness, cyclin expression and cell proliferation. Journal of Cell Science (Jun), 134 (12): jcs257709. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.257709
Conference Abstracts
Heo Y, Zhang E, Bae Y, Heo S. “Repetitive mechanical stress triggers epigenetic reprogramming and transcriptional alterations in tendon cells” Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting 2025. Phoenix, AZ (Poster Presentation)
Zhang E, Lee SH, Heo Y, Lakadamyali M, Mauck RL, Jung I, Heo S. “Identifying key molecular factors in chondrocyte dedifferentiation through single-nuclei multiome sequencing” Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting 2025. Phoenix, AZ (Poster Presentation)
Cheung C, Zhang Y, Zhang E, Tumenbayar B, Heo Y, Bae Y, Heo S. “Zone-dependent epigenetic and transcriptomic dynamics in meniscus cell migration and inflammation” Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting 2025. Phoenix, AZ (Podium Presentation)
Heo Y, Zhang E, Bae Y, Heo S. “Deciphering epigenetic responses in tenocytes to long-term dynamic tensile loading: implications for tendon degeneration mechanisms” Center for Engineering Mechanobiology Annual Symposium, 2024. Philadelphia, PA (Poster Presentation)
Heo Y, Zhang E, Bae Y, Heo S. “Dynamic tensile loading modulates gene expression through epigenetic regulation in tenocytes” Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting 2024. Baltimore, MD (Podium Presentation)
Heo Y, Lee SH, Drewes R, Thomas C, Pham K, Bae Y, Heo S. “A stiffness-tunable ECM-based vascular model reveals survivin/YAP-mediated mechanotransduction in humans VSMCs” Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting 2024. Baltimore, MD (Poster Presentation)
Zhang E, Lee SH, Heo Y, Greenberg R, Lakadamyali M, Mauck RL, Jung I, Heo S. “Identifying key molecular factors in chondrocyte dedifferentiation” Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting 2024. Baltimore, MD (Podium Presentation)
Heo Y, Zhang E, Bae Y, Heo S. “Deciphering epigenetic responses in tenocytes to long-term dynamic tensile loading: implications for tendon degeneration mechanisms” Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting, 2024. Long Beach, CA (Poster Presentation)
Zhang E, Heo Y, Pinto F, Jung J, Greenberg R, Cho H, Lakadamyali M, Mauck RL, Heo S. “Altered epigenetic status and cellular mechanosensitivity in human chondrocytes during in vitro expansion” Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting, 2024. Long Beach, CA (Poster Presentation)
Rice K, Mousso T, Tumenbayar B, Heo Y, Bae Y. “Survivin orchestrates stiffness-induced vascular smooth muscle cell migration” American Society of Cell Biology and European Molecular Biology Organization Meeting, 2023. Boston, MA (Poster Presentation)
Krajnik A, Nimmer E, Sullivan A, Brazzo III JA, Heo Y, Krug A, Kolega J, Heo S, Lee K, Weil BR, Kim D, Bae Y. “Survivin regulates intracellular stiffness and extracellular matrix production in vascular smooth muscle cells” Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, 2023. San Diego, CA (Poster Presentation)
Brazzo III JA, Heo Y, Bae Y. “Lamellipodin drives stiffness-dependent cell cycling through YAP” American Society of Cell Biology and European Molecular Biology Organization Meeting, 2022. Washington, D.C. (Poster Presentation)
Brazzo III JA, Biber JC, Nimmer E, Heo Y, Lee K, Krause M, Bae Y. “Role of lamellipodin in cellular mechanotransduction” American Society for Matrix Biology, 2021. St. Louis, MO (Podium Presentation)