Contact
Location
MEC Room 335C
Lab
4040 Lewis and Clark Dr
122 Engineer's Way
Charlottesville, VA 22904

About

Adaptation of the structure at all levels of hierarchy. The main focus of Dr. Tang's lab is to understand how these structures relate to their biomechanical functions across multiple length scales, with a particular interest at micro- and nanoscale levels. This understanding is critically important as some musculoskeletal diseases originate at the fundamental building block levels of individual collagen fibrils and mineral particles, such as in osteoarthritis.

By leveraging some of the most advanced imaging and characterization techniques, such as 3D volume electron tomography, correlative light and electron tomography, synchrotron X-ray scattering, and X-ray microscopy, Dr. Tang's team aims to reveal some of the most complex biological tissue functions in bone, cartilage, tendon or related structures.

Before joining UVA, Dr. Tang was an Adjunct Professor and Research Associate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at McMaster University, Canada. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the University of British Columbia, followed by post-doctoral training in the Department of Biomaterials at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Golm, Germany.

Education

Adjunct Assistant Professor and Research Associate, Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University

Post-doc, Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces

Ph.D., Materials Engineering, University of British Columbia

B.Eng., Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Research Interests

Biomechanics
Biomaterials
Structure-function relationships
Advanced microscopic imaging
Biomineralizing tissues
Bioimaging
Bone, Cartilage, Tendon

Selected Publications

Characterization of human trabecular bone across multiple length scales using a correlative approach combining X-ray tomography with LaserFIB and plasma FIB-SEM Tang, T.*, Casagrande, T., Moahmmadpour, P., Landis, W., Lievers, B., Grandfield, K.
Subcanalicular nanochannel volume is inversely correlated with calcium content in human cortical bone Tang, T., Landis, W., Blouin, S., Bertinetti, L., Hartmann, M., Berzlanovich, A., Weinkamer, R., Wagermaier, W., Fratzl, P.
A 3D network of nanochannels for possible ion and molecule transit in mineralizing bone and cartilage Tang, T., Landis, W., Raguin, E,. Werner, P,. Bertinetti, L., Dean, M., Wagermaier, W., Fratzl, P.
Breast cancer-secreted factors perturb murine bone growth in regions prone to metastasis Chiou, A., Chuang, L., Moreno, I., Tang, T., Wagermaier, W., Dean, M., Fischbach, C., Fratzl, P.
Three-dimensional structural interrelations between cells, extracellular matrix, and mineral in normally mineralizing avian leg tendon Zou, Z.*, Tang T.*, Macías-Sánchez, E., Sviben, S., Landis, W.J., Bertinetti, L., Fratzl, P.
Hypermineralization in the femoral neck of the elderly Tang, T., Wagermaier, W., Schuetz, R., Wang, Q., Eltit, F., Fratzl, P. and Wang, R.
Clinical hip fracture is accompanied by compression induced failure in the superior cortex of the femoral neck Tang, T., Cripton, P., Guy, P., McKay, H., and Wang, R.
Shear deformation and fracture of human cortical bone Tang, T., Ebacher, V., Guy, P., Cripton, P., McKay, H., and Wang, R.

Courses

Special Topics: Fracture Mechanics

Awards and Professional Service

Constance Livingstone-Friedman and Sydney Friedman Foundation Scholar
Die undesleistungsbesoldungsverordnung
ICCBMT Young Investigator Award
Bone Reports Early Career Researcher Editorial Board

Featured Grants & Projects

NSERC Discovery Grant – Individual Toward establishing novel interfacial materials characterization platforms
NSERC Alliance Catalyst Grant A novel 3D synergistic approach to characterize biology-structure-mechanics relationships in cranial sutures
CALM Project Seed Grant The architecture of bone osteocyte lacunocanalicular network in men with prostate cancer bone metastases
German Electron Synchrotron DESY Correlation between bone minerals and cell network at bone-cartilage interface: A high resolution SAXS/WAXS study