Megan L Killian, PhD

I am an established investigator and expert in tendon and enthesis development, healing, and mechanobiology. I started my independent career as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in 2016 at the University of Delaware in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. In February 2020, I relocated my laboratory to Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan where I am an Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology (without tenure). I am on the administrative team for the Michigan Integrative Musculoskeletal Health Center and a member of several research centers on campus, including the Center for Cell Plasticity and Organ Design.

My research portfolio includes the development of pre-clinical and translational models to study the development, injury, and healing of the tendon enthesis. The work highlighted by published manuscripts, conference proceedings, and invited talks describes the breadth and depth of my expertise in tendon and enthesis development, mechano-adaptation, and healing. Additionally, this work includes new avenues or research studying the effects of FGF signaling, hypoxia, and HIF1 on progenitor cell behavior and extracellular matrix damage and deposition in the context of enthesis loading.

My laboratory has pioneered the use of optogenetics for in vivo muscle contractility to study growth and remodeling of musculoskeletal tissues, specifically focused on tendon, enthesis, and bone. The core competencies of my lab include in vivo transgenic mouse lines (e.g., Cre-lox) and rodent injury models; biomechanical testing; histomorphometry; and advanced imaging (e.g., micro-computed tomography). My laboratory is supported by funding from the NIH, NSF, and the Michigan-Israel Partnership.