Dr PingPing Han specialises in mechanism of bone disorders, adult stem cell ageing, osteoporosis gene therapy, mechanotransductive signalling pathway
Dr Han's research focuses on:
I undertake research in the field of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, with a specific focus on investigating the fundamental molecular mechanisms of bone disorders and assessing the potential of therapeutic biomaterials to provide clinical therapy for patients. I have developed modified nanomaterials as potential regenerative therapeutics for dental/bone disorder diseases such as periodontitis and osteoporosis. I have also utilised real-time mechanotransductive biosensors to control the adhesome as a means to regulate stem cell fate choice on modified nanomaterial substrates. More recently, I have begun investigating the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in skeletal ageing and examining the therapeutic potential of manipulating these modulators as a novel treatment strategy for osteoporosis.
Collaborations
The projects have led to national and international collaborations, including with researchers in China, Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia), QUT and her recent lab at AIBN of UQ, with several papers published in top-tier journals in the field of bone and mineral tissue, and several more in preparation as first author.
Key Publications
Chengtie Wu1, Lunguo Xia1, Pingping Han1, Lixia Mao, Jiacheng Wang, Dong Zhai, Bing Fang, Jiang Chang, Yin Xiao. Europium (Eu)-containing mesoporous bioactive glass scaffolds for stimulating in vitro and in vivo osteogenesis. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016, 8 (18):11342-54. (Co-first author)
Chengtie Wu, Lunguo Xia, Pingping Han1, Mengchi Xu, Bing Fang, Jiacheng Wang, Jiang Chang, Yin Xiao. Graphene-oxide-modified β-tricalcium phosphate bioceramics stimulate in vitro and in vivo osteogenesis. Carbon. 2015, 93, 116–129. (Co-first author)
Pingping Han, Saso Ivanovski, Ross Crawford, Yin Xiao. Activation of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway induces cementum regeneration. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2015, 30 (7), 1160–1174.
Pingping Han, Chengtie Wu, Yin Xiao. The effect of silicate ions on proliferation, osteogenic differentiation and cell signalling pathways (WNT and SHH) of bone marrow stromal cells. Biomaterial Science. 2013, 1: 379–392.
Pingping Han, Chengtie Wu, Jiang Chang, Yin Xiao. The cementogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament cells via the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway by Li+ ions released from bioactive scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2012, 33 (27): 6370-6379.
Funding
UQ Development Fellowship 2017
Australian Dental Research Foundation (ADRF) 2011
Australian Dental Industry Association (ADIA) 2011