Welcome to the Lab

The Neuroskeletal Biology Laboratory (NSBL) was founded in 2016 and is part of the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MRC) and Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases at Washington University. The laboratory consists of a mix of technicians, trainees/fellows, and undergraduate researchers. For more information about our members and their accomplishments, please see the people, awards, and antics pages. You can also find us on twitter.

Our Research

Our laboratory synthesizes concepts from cell biology, physiology, and bioengineering to study the relationships between the nervous system and the skeleton. We have a directed interest in understanding how neural signals contribute to skeletal homeostasis, and how perturbations to this system contribute to bone loss, impaired healing, and skeletal pain. For more information about our work, see our projects and publications.

Recent Events

Sarm1 knockout prevents type 1 diabetic bone disease in females independent of neuropathy (Links to an external site)

Patients with diabetes have a high risk of developing skeletal diseases accompanied by diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). In this study, we isolated the role of DPN in skeletal disease with global and conditional knockout models of sterile-α and TIR-motif-containing protein-1 (Sarm1). SARM1, an NADase highly expressed in the nervous system, regulates axon degeneration upon a […]

Development and Expansion of Intramuscular Adipose Tissue is Not Dependent on UCP-1-Lineage Cells in Mice (Links to an external site)

Accumulation of adipose tissue within and outside of skeletal muscle is associated with orthopedic injury and metabolic disease, where it is thought to impede muscle function. The close juxtaposition between this adipose and myofibers has led to hypotheses that paracrine interactions between the two regulate local physiology. Recent work suggests that intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) […]

Xiao Zhang attends the BME leadership retreat in Minnesota.

Xiao Zhang attends the BME leadership retreat in Minnesota.
Xiao Zhang, a PhD student in the Scheller lab attended the Biomedical Engineering retreat in Minnesota. This regional career conference helps strengthen and diversify the next generation of researchers, giving them the opportunity to network with leaders in the field. It also provides a great opportunity to learn from faculty and peers about academic careers […]

Scheller Lab presents posters at MRC Symposium (Links to an external site)

Scheller Lab presents posters at MRC Symposium
The Scheller Lab members presented their posters at the Musculoskeletal Research Symposium while Dr. Scheller presented her postdoc Dr. Muhammad Hassan’s research. The annual MRC symposium always challenges us to grow by putting our work out there. Congratulations to our experienced pros and first time presenters, and especially Xiao Zhang for taking home one of […]

Knockout of TSC2 in Nav1.8+ neurons predisposes to the onset of normal weight obesity (Links to an external site)

Knockout of TSC2 in Nav1.8+ neurons predisposes to the onset of normal weight obesity
Obesity and nutrient oversupply increase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling in multiple cell types and organs, contributing to the onset of insulin resistance and complications of metabolic disease. However, it remains unclear when and where mTOR activation mediates these effects, limiting options for therapeutic intervention. The objective of this study was to isolate the role of constitutive […]

Welcome to our new undergraduates – Anurag Majumdar and Anna Li (Links to an external site)

Welcome to our new undergraduates – Anurag Majumdar and Anna Li
Anurag is an undergraduate student at Washington University majoring in Biology: Neuroscience. He is currently working to identify cerebral regions of leptin sensitivity or abnormality in response to chronically high leptin levels. Anna is an undergraduate student studying Biomedical Engineering at Washington University. She will be assisting in bone scan analysis and projects investigating bioelectric […]

A bone-specific adipogenesis pathway in health and disease (Links to an external site)

A bone-specific adipogenesis pathway in health and disease
Bone marrow adipocytes accumulate with age and in diverse disease states. However, their origins and adaptations in these conditions remain unclear, impairing our understanding of their context-specific endocrine functions and relationship with surrounding tissues. In this study, by analyzing bone and adipose tissues in the lipodystrophic ‘fat-free’ mouse, we define a novel, secondary adipogenesis pathway […]

Jobs and Opportunities

Check out our Jobs and Projects pages for more information.