People
Principal Investigator
George Joseph Christ, Ph.D.
Commonwealth Professor of Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery
George Joseph Christ, Ph.D., develops basic and translational tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches to organ and tissue repair, reconstruction and replacement, with a focus on the musculoskeletal system, vasculature and lower urinary tract. Dr. Christ is an internationally recognized expert in muscle physiology.
Lab Members
Poonam Sharma
Poonam Sharma, Ph.D., serves currently as the lab manager for the Christ lab.
Areli Rodriguez
Areli Rodriguez is a current Ph.D. candidate, she joined Christ lab in Fall 2017.
Michael Rariden
I am a Ph.D. candidate currently pursuing my thesis on evaluating regenerative medicine therapeutic outcomes in animal models. I joined the Christ lab in Fall 2019 to develop my thesis. My interest in this area stems from the understanding that animal models offer the most physiologically-relevant way to study regenerative therapeutics. My work specifically focuses on enhancing histological image analysis and muscle force/torque production analyses. To accomplish this, I am utilizing tools such as image analysis using traditional and deep learning methods, applied graph theory, model fitting, and data visualization. Prior to my time at the University of Virginia, I obtained my undergraduate degree in bioengineering at Miami University, located in Ohio.
When I am not in the lab, I enjoy pursuing various hobbies. I am particularly passionate about training in judo and BJJ, but I also have many other interests. I enjoy a good read; both fiction and nonfiction. Backpacking is another activity that I enjoy, and having grown up in Illinois, I find that the Blue Ridge is far more captivating than the plains of my hometown. Although I have had the privilege of visiting Glacier, Zion, and Yellowstone national parks, the Blue Ridge holds a special place in my heart as it is located in my backyard. In my free time, I also like to fly fish and tie my own flies. As a General class amateur radio operator, I find myself exploring various communication technologies. Lastly, I love to ride my ‘05 Triumph Bonneville, which brings me great joy.
Olivia Sergent
Olivia Sergent is currently a Ph.D. candidate who joined Christ lab in Fall 2019.
Sydney Shriver
I am a Ph.D. candidate investigating the use of hyaluronic acid-based biomaterials as treatments for volumetric muscle loss (VML) injuries. As such, I am exploring their capacity for enhancing functional recovery in three different animal injury models: the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and masseter. I am interested in seeing how muscle can regenerate across multiple metrics such as gross force output and analysis of gait patterns. Prior to attending UVA, I earned my B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Florida in 2020. I joined the Christ lab in Fall 2020.
Outside of the lab I consider myself a crafty and sporty person. I love handmaking gifts and have created things in a variety of formats like knitting, sewing, painting, or woodworking. I also enjoy bouldering and hiking in my free time, something I find much more rewarding after moving away from mountainless Florida and into the Blue Ridge.
Christian Tessman
I am currently a Ph.D. candidate focusing my research on understanding the effects of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) and repair on the function and atrophy of associated muscles. I am using a rat sciatic nerve injury model to investigate the effectiveness of clinical and preclinical nerve repair technologies at restoring adequate muscle mass and function to the lower hindlimb muscles. Prior to attending UVA, I earned my B.S. in materials science and engineering at Johns Hopkins University. While at JHU, I used calcium alginate hydrogels to investigate the effects of substrate mechanical properties on cell proliferation.
I joined the lab in Fall 2021, but outside of the lab I enjoy cooking and baking new dishes; I often find myself searching our local bookstores for new cookbooks or our farmer’s markets for fun ingredients. I also enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy novels, playing video games with my friends, and trying new restaurants
Megan Lobdell
Megan Lobdell is currently a Ph.D. candidate having joined the Christ lab in Fall 2022.
Andy Vo
Andy is currently a MD/PhD student with clinical interest in transplant medicine and research interests in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He joined the Christ lab in Spring 2023. His prior research experience includes biomaterials, immuno-engineering, neural tissue engineering, automated image analysis, and some computational biology and stem cell biology. He is currently on vascularizing the lab’s tissue-engineered muscle repair (TEMR) constructs for volumetric muscle loss (VML) injury repair.
Kira Bourret
Kira Bourret is currently a masters student who joined the Christ lab in Fall 2023.