James H-C Wang, PhD

  • Professor
  • Albert B. Ferguson, Jr., MD, Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Vice Chair of Research
  • Director, MechanoBiology Laboratory

Education & Training

  • PhD, University of Cincinnati
  • MS, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
  • BS, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

Research Interests

  • Mechanobiology of tendon and ligament
  • Cellular and molecular mechanisms of tendinopathy
  • Development of therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of tendinopathy
  • Application of biologics and biomaterials to repair tendon and tendon-bone interface

Representative Publications

  1. Wang, JH-C. Substrate deformation determines actin cytoskeleton reorganization: A  mathematical modeling and experimental study. J theor Biol. 202: 33-41, 2000.
  2. Zhang, J; Pan, T; Im, H-J; Fu, F; Wang, JH-C. Differential properties of human ACL and MCL stem cells may be responsible for their differential healing capacity. BMC Medicine 9:68, 2011.
  3. Zhao, G; Zhang, J; Nie, D; Zhou, Y; Li, F; Onishi, K; Billiar, T; Wang, JH-C. HMGB1 mediates the development of tendinopathy due to mechanical overloading. PLoS ONE 14(9):e2222369, 2019.
  4. Zhang, J; Li, F; Nie, D; Onishi, K; Hogan, MV; Wang, JH-C. Effect of metformin on development of tendinopathy due to mechanical overloading in an animal model. Foot and Ankle Int,  41(12) 1455–1465, 2020.
  5. Zhang, J; Nie, D; Williamson, K; McDowell, A; Hogan, MV; Wang, JH-C. Moderate and intensive mechanical loading differentially modulate the phenotype of tendon stem/progenitor cells in vivo. PLoS ONE, Dec 29;15(12):e0242640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242640. eCollection 2020.
  6. Zhang, J; Li, F; Williamson, KM; Tan, S; Scott, D; Onishi, K; Hogan, MV; Wang, JH-C. Characterization of the structure, vascularity, and stem/progenitor cell populations in porcine Achilles tendon (PAT). Cell Tissue Res, 384(2) 367-387, 2021.
  7. Nie, D; Zhang, J; Zhou, Y; Sun, J; Wang, W; Wang, JH-C. Rapamycin treatment of tendon stem/progenitor cells reduces cellular senescence by upregulating autophagy. Stem Cell Intl, 2021,  doi: 10.1155/2021/6638249. eCollection 2021.
  8. Nie, D; Zhou, Y; Wang, W; Zhang, J; Wang, JH-C. Mechanical overloading-induced activation of mTOR signaling in tendon stem/progenitor cells contributes to tendinopathy development. Front Cell Dev Biol, 9, 687856. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.687856. eCollection, 2021.
  9. Zhang, J; Li, F; Augi, T; Williamson, KM; Onishi, K; Hogan, MV; Neal, MD; Wang, JH-C. Platelet HMGB1 in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) promotes tendon wound healing. PLoS ONE, 16(9): e0251166, 2021.
  10. Zhang, J; Brown, R; Hogan, MV; Onishi, K; Wang, JH-C. Metformin improves tendon degeneration by blocking translocation of HMGB1 and suppressing tendon inflammation and senescence in aging mice. J Orthop Res,10.1002/jor.25470. doi: 10.1002/jor.25470, 2022.

Pubmed link

Research Grants

Repurposed Metformin as a Preventative Therapeutic for Tendon Overuse Injuries
DOD-MTEC, W81XWH2290016
Role: PI
​10/01/2022 - 09/30/2024

Recovery of Tendon Injury by Targeting Its Root Cause and Enhancing Tendon Stem Cells
DOD OR220017
Role: PI
09/30/2023 - 08/31/2026

Managing Chronic Tendon Pain by Repurposing Metformin
DOD CP220013
Role: PI
09/30/2023 - 08/31/2025