Paula Hernandez, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School Medical School Department Orthopaedic Surgery | Biomedical Engineering Biography Dr. Hernandez completed her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cell Biology and Neuroscience at the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile, where she worked in Alzheimer's disease. She switched her career to orthopaedic research during her postdoctoral training at UConn Health Center with Dr. Sun-Kyeong Lee. She spent two years training in cartilage biology at the University of Cambridge in UK with Drs. Frances Henson and John Wardale. In 2014 she returned to the U.S. to work with Dr. Nadeen Chahine in cytoskeleton and intervertebral discs mechanobiology at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York. Her research currently explores structural, cellular, and mechanobiological aspects of sexual dimorphism in cartilage health and in osteoarthritis. Education Undergraduate University of Chile (2000), Science Graduate School University of Chile (2007), Science Research Interest cartilage diseases cell mechanobiology sexual dimorphism in articular cartilage tissue biomechanics Publications Featured Publications Unraveling sex-specific risks of knee osteoarthritis before menopause: Do sex differences start early in life? Hernandez PA, Bradford JC, Brahmachary P, Ulman S, Robinson JL, June RK, Cucchiarini M, Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2024 May Sexual Dimorphism in the Extracellular and Pericellular Matrix of Articular Cartilage. Hernandez PA, Moreno M, Barati Z, Hutcherson C, Sathe AA, Xing C, Wright J, Welch T, Dhaher Y, Cartilage 2022 Jul-Sep 13 3 19476035221121792 Actomyosin contractility confers mechanoprotection against TNFa-induced disruption of the intervertebral disc. Hernandez PA, Jacobsen TD, Chahine NO, Sci Adv 2020 Aug 6 34 eaba2368 Early-Onset Osteoarthritis originates at the chondrocyte level in Hip Dysplasia. Hernandez PA, Wells J, Usheva E, Nakonezny PA, Barati Z, Gonzalez R, Kassem L, Henson FMD, Sci Rep 2020 01 10 1 627 Mechanotransduction and cell biomechanics of the intervertebral disc. Fearing BV, Hernandez PA, Setton LA, Chahine NO, JOR Spine 2018 Sep 1 3 Fat Phagocytosis Promotes Anti-Inflammatory Responses of Macrophages in a Mouse Model of Osteonecrosis. Deng Z, Kim HKW, Hernandez PA, Ren Y, Cells 2024 Jul 13 14 Fabrication of Micropatterns of Aligned Collagen Fibrils. Subramanian D, Tjahjono NS, Hernandez PA, Varner VD, Petroll WM, Schmidtke DW, Langmuir 2024 Jan Inhibition of toll-like receptor 4 protects against inflammation-induced mechanobiological alterations to intervertebral disc cells TD Jacobsen, Hernandez PA, Chahine NO Eur Cell Mater 2021 41 576-591 Confocal scanning of intervertebral disc cells in 3D: Inside alginate beads and in native microenvironment. Hernandez PA, Jacobsen TD, Barati Z, Chahine NO, JOR Spine 2020 Dec 3 4 e1106 Bactericidal efficacy of hydrogen peroxide on Cutibacterium acnes. Hernandez P, Sager B, Fa A, Liang T, Lozano C, Khazzam M, Bone Joint Res 2019 Jan 8 1 3-10 Results 1-10 of 21 1 2 3 Next Last Honors & Awards Conicyt grant award for Ph.D. thesis (2004-2004) Millenium Institute CBB scholarship for research in USA (2003-2003) Conicyt scholarship for Ph.D. studies (2002-2004) Millenium Institute CBB scholarship for research in USA (2002-2002) Professional Associations/Affiliations International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (2024) ORS Spine section (2017) Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) (2017) Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) (2021)
