Dr. Wagley’s research program focuses to characterize genomic variants associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risks through a functional genomics approach. He collaborates with clinicians, geneticists, bioinformaticists, and bone biologists to pin-point functionally relevant novel genes driven by non-coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) for translational studies in relevant human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) and osteoclast cells using cutting edge system-wide studies. A primary research goal of his laboratory is to understand additional regulatory mechanisms of these novel BMD genes and define their cross-talk with “core bone genes”. A long-term goal of Dr. Wagley’s research program is to develop and characterize clinically relevant in vivo models to interrogate these novel BMD regulatory genes for early osteoporosis diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.

Dr. Wagley received his M.Sc (Medical Microbiology) from Tribhuvan University, Nepal (2004) and his Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) from Chosun University, South Korea (2009). He completed his first post-doctoral fellowship at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota (2010-2016) to understand the genetic regulation of opioid receptors in neuronal and non-neuronal cells. Dr. Wagley started his research in the musculoskeletal field in 2016 when he joined the Orthopaedic Research Laboratories under the direct supervision of Dr. Kurt D. Hankenson. Working alongside Dr. Hankenson, Dr. Wagley has successfully optimized and developed various in vitro and in vivo research models for mechanistic and translational interrogation of novel osteoblast effector genes. Since 2021, Dr. Wagley functions as an independent Research Investigator within the Hankinson Laboratory and continues to identify and characterize several candidate BMD effector genes in vivo to provide meaningful preclinical data for early osteoporosis diagnosis, bone fracture management, and intervention. Dr. Wagley is an active member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) and Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), which are his primary academic communities.

1. Discovery of osteoblast and osteoclast bone mass effector genes using advanced genomics
2. Integration of Bone Morphogenetic Protein, Notch signaling, and WNT modulators for accelerated bone fracture healing
3. EPDR1 specification of bone turnover by inflammatory cross-talk within the bone microenvironment
4. miR-199a-5p specification of human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation