People

Dr. Scheller has a research background that spans the fields of bone biology, neurobiology, and integrated physiology. She completed DDS/PhD and post-doctoral training at the University of Michigan prior to founding the NSBL at Washington University. Dr. Scheller has a directed interest in leveraging high-resolution imaging and other innovative techniques to study neural regulation of the skeletal microenvironment.

Dr. Hassan is currently a Rita Levi-Montalcini Postdoctoral Fellow. He received his clinical orthodontic training at Alexandria University in Egypt and was awarded the Fulbright scholarship to conduct his Ph.D. research at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF). In the Scheller Lab, he is interested in defining mechanisms within the craniofacial skeleton to augment the cellular reprogramming and recruitment events that occur during multi-interface tissue regeneration.

Dr. Meslier is a Rita Levi-Montalcini Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Regenerative Medicine. He earned his PhD from Northeastern University in Boston, where he developed expertise in bone mechanoadaptation and advanced bone imaging techniques. In the Scheller Lab, his research focuses on understanding the role of the nervous system and adipocytes in regulating the bone’s anabolic response to mechanical loading.

Lila is a graduate student in the biomedical engineering PhD program. She is currently studying neurometabolic effects in diabetic mouse models with a conditional knockout of Sarm1 from central and peripheral neurons. These mouse models will be studied under various conditions to isolate the role of neural Sarm1 signaling in the onset of of the metabolic and skeletal complications of diabetes.

Anushka is a graduate student in the biomedical engineering program. She is currently studying the differential healing of neural crest derived bone relative to mesoderm derived bone. She is interested in elucidating the underlying mechanisms by which this differential healing occurs, specifically the role of p75-NTR+ cells and macrophages.

Sree is a graduate student in the biomedical engineering program. He is currently studying the neural regulation of bone marrow adipose tissues, and the mechanisms coupling bone marrow adipocyte activation to new bone formation.

Isabella is currently an undergraduate student at WashU. She is a Biology major, Healthcare Management minor, and on the pre-dental track. Her involvement in the Scheller lab includes working with Dr. Hassan and Anushka Gerald in their research on craniofacial bone regeneration. She is interested in anything related to dentistry and is excited to support the endeavors to ultimately develop therapies for bone healing and regeneration.

Naina is an undergraduate student at WashU. She is currently majoring in Anthropology: Global Health and Environment and Biology. She is currently analyzing histology slides and focusing on differences in tissues between Sarm1-cKO HFD mice and control HFD mice.

Arushi is an undergraduate student at WashU. She is majoring in Biology and minoring in
Anthropology: Global Health and Environment. She is currently investigating leptin mediated
effects on bone marrow adipose tissue and bone volume using microCT analysis.