In this talk, we will explore how engineering the molecular and physical environment of muscle can advance reliable and translatable regeneration. I will first discuss strategies that reprogram cells and harness muscle fibers as transient in vivo biofactories for therapeutic protein production. I will then turn to a fundamental question in muscle stem cell biology: how mechanically confining pressure regulates MuSC activation, stemness, and nuclear organization. Together, these studies link core mechanistic insights with emerging strategies to engineer muscle repair and functional recovery.
Dr. Woojin Han is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. He investigates how the muscle stem cell niche can be manipulated to restore function after injury or disease, integrating mechanobiology approaches with genetic tools and therapeutic biomaterials to link basic discovery with translational innovation. His lab’s work spans mechanistic studies of how physical forces shape stem cell self-renewal and quiescence to the development of platforms for reprogramming muscle tissue, with strong potential for treating trauma and degenerative disease. He received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester, his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed postdoctoral training at Georgia Tech, supported by AFAR and NIH F32 fellowships. Dr. Han has published over 35 papers, including in Nature Materials, Science Advances, Stem Cell Reports, and Advanced Biology. His work has earned national recognition, including Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10,” the 2025 BMES/CMBE Young Innovator Award, and the 2025 NEBEC Emerging Investigator Award. He serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Society for Biomaterials Tissue Engineering SIG, Founding Member and Research and Education Chair of the Orthopaedic Research Society’s Skeletal Muscle Section, and on the editorial boards of Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, Matrix Biology, and Matrix Biology Plus. Since 2021, he has mentored over 15 trainees across career stages, reflecting his commitment to developing future leaders in science and medicine.