Christopher Hernandez, PhD
Professor
Orthopaedic Surgery
School of Medicine

I am a mechanical engineer and bioengineer. My laboratory studies interactions between microbes, musculoskeletal tissues and materials. We are currently studying the effects of the gut microbiome on the musculoskeletal system and the success of orthopaedic surgery. Additionally we are studying mechanobiology of bacteria and advancing the new field of Engineered Living Materials.

Education & Training

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• PhD Mechanical Engineering Stanford University 2001
• MS Mechanical Engineering Stanford University 1997
• SB Engineering Sciences (Biomedical Engineering) Harvard University 1996

Websites

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• Health Innovations Via Engineering (engineering.ucsf.edu)
• Hernandez Research Group (hernandezresearch.com)

Grants and Projects

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• The Microbiome and Bone Strength, NIH, 2021-2026
• The Microbiome and Bone Strength, NIH, 2020-2021
• The Role of Bone Resorption in Bone Marrow Lesions, NIH, 2018-2021
• The microbiome as a risk factor for periprosthetic joint infection, NIH, 2017-2020
• Separating Systemic Inflammation From Obesity in Load-Induced Osteoarthritis, NIH, 2015-2017
• Biomechanical Effects of Microstructural Flaws in Cancellous Bone, NIH, 2010-2015
• Associations between gut microbiota, flagellin production and bone microstructure, NIH, 2013-2014
• Acquisition of a Nano Computed Tomography Instrument for shared Cornell Imaging f, NIH, 2013-2014
• Three-Dimensional Dynamic Bone Histomorphometry, NIH, 2007-2010

Publications (74)

Top publication keywords:
Cancellous BoneBone DensityMicrobubblesVibrio choleraeTensile StrengthGastrointestinal MicrobiomeOsteoporosisBone MatrixBone and BonesElastic ModulusStaphylococcus aureusBone RemodelingWeight-BearingTibiaCell Wall

• Microbiome-induced Increases and Decreases in Bone Matrix Strength can be Initiated After Skeletal Maturity.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2024 Liu C, Cyphert EL, Stephen SJ, Wang B, Morales AL, Nixon JC, Natsoulas NR, Garcia M, Carmona PB, Vill AC, Donnelly E, Brito IL, Vashishth D, Hernandez CJ
• Effects of high dose aspartame-based sweetener on the gut microbiota and bone strength in young and aged mice.
  JBMR plus 2024 Cyphert EL, Liu C, Morales AL, Nixon JC, Blackford E, Garcia M, Cevallos N, Turnbaugh PJ, Brito IL, Booth SL, Hernandez CJ
• Combinatorial characterization of bacterial taxa-driven differences in the microbiome of oyster reefs.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2024 Cyphert EL, Nand S, Franco G, Hajkowski M, Soto L, Lee DM, Ferner M, Zabin C, Blumenthal J, Deck A, Boyer K, Burrus K, Hernandez CJ, Anand A
• Determining the Young's Modulus of the Bacterial Cell Envelope.
  ACS biomaterials science & engineering 2024 Lee J, Jha K, Harper CE, Zhang W, Ramsukh M, Bouklas N, Dörr T, Chen P, Hernandez CJ
• Effects of long-term high dose aspartame on body mass, bone strength, femoral geometry, and microbiota composition in a young and aged cohort of male and female mice.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2024 Cyphert EL, Liu C, Morales AL, Nixon JC, Blackford E, Garcia M, Cevallos N, Turnbaugh PJ, Brito IL, Booth SL, Hernandez CJ

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• The 2023 Orthopaedic Research Society's International Consensus Meeting on musculoskeletal infection: Summary from the host immunity section.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2023 Schwarz EM, Archer NK, Atkins GJ, Bentley KLM, Botros M, Cassat JE, Chisari E, Coraça-Huber DC, Daiss JL, Gill SR, Goodman SB, Harro J, Hernandez CJ, Ivashkiv LB, Kates SL, Marques CNH, Masters EA, …
• Mechanical stimuli activate gene expression via a cell envelope stress sensing pathway.
  Scientific reports 2023 Harper CE, Zhang W, Lee J, Shin JH, Keller MR, van Wijngaarden E, Chou E, Wang Z, Dörr T, Chen P, Hernandez CJ
• Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMR1), a novel inhibitor of osteoblast/osteocyte differentiation, regulates bone formation, mass, and strength in young and aged male and female mice.
  Bone research 2023 Deosthale P, Balanta-Melo J, Creecy A, Liu C, Marcial A, Morales L, Cridlin J, Robertson S, Okpara C, Sanchez DJ, Ayoubi M, Lugo JN, Hernandez CJ, Wallace JM, Plotkin LI
• Suppression of Remodeling and Bone Fragility.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2023 Hernandez CJ
• Multiple Dietary Vitamin K Forms Are Converted to Tissue Menaquinone-4 in Mice.
  The Journal of nutrition 2022 Ellis JL, Fu X, Karl JP, Hernandez CJ, Mason JB, DeBose-Boyd RA, Booth SL
• Animal Models of Bone Marrow Lesions in Osteoarthritis.
  JBMR plus 2022 Bowen A, Shamritsky D, Santana J, Porter I, Feldman E, Pownder SL, Koff MF, Hayashi K, Hernandez CJ
• Distributions of Microdamage Are Altered Between Trabecular Rods and Plates in Cancellous Bone From Men With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2022 Sacher SE, Hunt HB, Lekkala S, Lopez KA, Potts J, Heilbronner AK, Stein EM, Hernandez CJ, Donnelly E
• In Their Own Words: How Trans Women Acquired HIV Infection.
  AIDS and behavior 2022 Wilson EC, Hernandez CJ, Arayasirikul S, Scheer S, Trujillo D, Sicro S, Turner CM, McFarland W
• Butyrate Inhibits Osteoclast Activity In Vitro and Regulates Systemic Inflammation and Bone Healing in a Murine Osteotomy Model Compared to Antibiotic-Treated Mice.
  Mediators of inflammation 2021 Wallimann A, Magrath W, Pugliese B, Stocker N, Westermann P, Heider A, Gehweiler D, Zeiter S, Claesson MJ, Richards RG, Akdis CA, Hernandez CJ, O'Mahony L, Thompson K, Moriarty TF
• Recent Advances in the Evaluation of Antimicrobial Materials for Resolution of Orthopedic Implant-Associated Infections In Vivo.
  ACS infectious diseases 2021 Cyphert EL, Zhang N, Learn GD, Hernandez CJ, von Recum HA
• Improved PrEP Awareness and Use among Trans Women in San Francisco, California.
  AIDS and behavior 2021 Wilson EC, Hernandez CJ, Scheer S, Trujillo D, Arayasirikul S, Sicro S, McFarland W
• The microbiome: A heritable contributor to bone morphology?
  Seminars in cell & developmental biology 2021 Hernandez CJ, Moeller AH
• Impaired Bone Matrix: The Key to Fragility in Type 2 Diabetes?
  The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2021 Hernandez CJ, Stein EM, Donnelly E
• Components of the Gut Microbiome That Influence Bone Tissue-Level Strength.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2021 Luna M, Guss JD, Vasquez-Bolanos LS, Castaneda M, Rojas MV, Strong JM, Alabi DA, Dornevil SD, Nixon JC, Taylor EA, Donnelly E, Fu X, Shea MK, Booth SL, Bicalho R, Hernandez CJ
• Musculoskeletal Microbiology: The Microbiome in Orthopaedic Biomechanics.
  Current opinion in biomedical engineering 2021 Hernandez CJ
• Alterations to the gut microbiome impair bone tissue strength in aged mice.
  Bone reports 2021 Castaneda M, Smith KM, Nixon JC, Hernandez CJ, Rowan S
• High hepatitis C virus seropositivity, viremia, and associated risk factors among trans women living in San Francisco, California.
  PloS one 2021 Hernandez CJ, Trujillo D, Sicro S, Meza J, Bella M, Daza E, Torres F, McFarland W, Turner CM, Wilson EC
• Characterization of Ultralow Density Cellular Solids: Lessons from 30 years of Bone Biomechanics Research.
  Advanced engineering materials 2021 Sacher S, Hernandez CJ, Donnelly E
• Dietary vitamin K is remodeled by gut microbiota and influences community composition.
  Gut microbes 2021 Ellis JL, Karl JP, Oliverio AM, Fu X, Soares JW, Wolfe BE, Hernandez CJ, Mason JB, Booth SL
• Musculoskeletal microbiology: The utility of the microbiome in orthopedics.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2020 Hernandez CJ
• The Gut Microbiome and Bone Strength.
  Current osteoporosis reports 2020 Castaneda M, Strong JM, Alabi DA, Hernandez CJ
• Obesity and load-induced posttraumatic osteoarthritis in the absence of fracture or surgical trauma.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2020 Luna M, Guss JD, Vasquez-Bolanos LS, Alepuz AJ, Dornevil S, Strong J, Alabi D, Shi Q, Pannellini T, Otero M, Brito IL, van der Meulen MCH, Goldring SR, Hernandez CJ
• The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in orthopedic research.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2020 Alliston T, Foucher KC, Frederick B, Hernandez CJ, Iatridis JC, Kozloff KM, Lewis KJ, Liu XS, Mercer DM, Ochia R, Queen RM, Rimnac CM, van der Meulen MCH, Westendorf JJ
• Improving Treatment Efficacy of In Situ Forming Implants via Concurrent Delivery of Chemotherapeutic and Chemosensitizer.
  Scientific reports 2020 Jeganathan S, Budziszewski E, Hernandez C, Dhingra A, Exner AA
• Reply to Zadpoor: Fatigue mechanisms observed in bone provide insight to microarchitectured materials.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2020 Hernandez CJ, Zavattieri PD, Trikanad AA, Rimnac CM
• Inhibition of the histone demethylase, KDM5B, directly induces re-expression of tumor suppressor protein HEXIM1 in cancer cells.
  Breast cancer research : BCR 2019 Montano MM, Yeh IJ, Chen Y, Hernandez C, Kiselar JG, de la Fuente M, Lawes AM, Nieman MT, Kiser PD, Jacobberger J, Exner AA, Lawes MC
• Bone-inspired microarchitectures achieve enhanced fatigue life.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2019 Torres AM, Trikanad AA, Aubin CA, Lambers FM, Luna M, Rimnac CM, Zavattieri P, Hernandez CJ
• Disruption of the Gut Microbiome Increases the Risk of Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Mice.
  Clinical orthopaedics and related research 2019 Hernandez CJ, Yang X, Ji G, Niu Y, Sethuraman AS, Koressel J, Shirley M, Fields MW, Chyou S, Li TM, Luna M, Callahan RL, Ross FP, Lu TT, Brito IL, Carli AV, Bostrom MPG
• Contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging by nature-inspired ultrastable echogenic nanobubbles.
  Nanoscale 2019 de Leon A, Perera R, Hernandez C, Cooley M, Jung O, Jeganathan S, Abenojar E, Fishbein G, Sojahrood AJ, Emerson CC, Stewart PL, Kolios MC, Exner AA
• The microbial metagenome and bone tissue composition in mice with microbiome-induced reductions in bone strength.
  Bone 2019 Guss JD, Taylor E, Rouse Z, Roubert S, Higgins CH, Thomas CJ, Baker SP, Vashishth D, Donnelly E, Shea MK, Booth SL, Bicalho RC, Hernandez CJ
• Altered Tissue Composition, Microarchitecture, and Mechanical Performance in Cancellous Bone From Men With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2019 Hunt HB, Torres AM, Palomino PM, Marty E, Saiyed R, Cohn M, Jo J, Warner S, Sroga GE, King KB, Lane JM, Vashishth D, Hernandez CJ, Donnelly E
• Enhancing Tumor Drug Distribution With Ultrasound-Triggered Nanobubbles.
  Journal of pharmaceutical sciences 2019 Nittayacharn P, Yuan HX, Hernandez C, Bielecki P, Zhou H, Exner AA
• Immunomodulatory nanogels overcome restricted immunity in a murine model of gut microbiome-mediated metabolic syndrome.
  Science advances 2019 Mosquera MJ, Kim S, Zhou H, Jing TT, Luna M, Guss JD, Reddy P, Lai K, Leifer CA, Brito IL, Hernandez CJ, Singh A
• Sink or float? Characterization of shell-stabilized bulk nanobubbles using a resonant mass measurement technique.
  Nanoscale 2019 Hernandez C, Abenojar EC, Hadley J, de Leon AC, Coyne R, Perera R, Gopalakrishnan R, Basilion JP, Kolios MC, Exner AA
• Reevaluating the Substrate Specificity of the L-Type Amino Acid Transporter (LAT1).
  Journal of medicinal chemistry 2018 Chien HC, Colas C, Finke K, Springer S, Stoner L, Zur AA, Venteicher B, Campbell J, Hall C, Flint A, Augustyn E, Hernandez C, Heeren N, Hansen L, Anthony A, Bauer J, Fotiadis D, Schlessinger A, …
• Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: What lies beneath.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2018 Alliston T, Hernandez CJ, Findlay DM, Felson DT, Kennedy OD
• Current Options and Emerging Biomaterials for Periprosthetic Joint Infection.
  Current rheumatology reports 2018 Levack AE, Cyphert EL, Bostrom MP, Hernandez CJ, von Recum HA, Carli AV
• The Microbiome and Bone and Joint Disease.
  Current rheumatology reports 2017 Hernandez CJ
• Cryo-EM Visualization of Lipid and Polymer-Stabilized Perfluorocarbon Gas Nanobubbles - A Step Towards Nanobubble Mediated Drug Delivery.
  Scientific reports 2017 Hernandez C, Gulati S, Fioravanti G, Stewart PL, Exner AA
• An in vivo model of a mechanically-induced bone marrow lesion.
  Journal of biomechanics 2017 Matheny JB, Goff MG, Pownder SL, Koff MF, Hayashi K, Yang X, Bostrom MPG, van der Meulen MCH, Hernandez CJ
• Ultrasound molecular imaging of ovarian cancer with CA-125 targeted nanobubble contrast agents.
  Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine 2017 Gao Y, Hernandez C, Yuan HX, Lilly J, Kota P, Zhou H, Wu H, Exner AA
• Mechanically induced bone formation is not sensitive to local osteocyte density in rat vertebral cancellous bone.
  Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society 2017 Cresswell EN, Nguyen TM, Horsfield MW, Alepuz AJ, Metzger TA, Niebur GL, Hernandez CJ
• Predicting in vivo behavior of injectable, in situ-forming drug-delivery systems.
  Therapeutic delivery 2017 Hernandez C, Exner AA
• Alterations to the Gut Microbiome Impair Bone Strength and Tissue Material Properties.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2017 Guss JD, Horsfield MW, Fontenele FF, Sandoval TN, Luna M, Apoorva F, Lima SF, Bicalho RC, Singh A, Ley RE, van der Meulen MC, Goldring SR, Hernandez CJ
• Romosozumab Treatment Converts Trabecular Rods into Trabecular Plates in Male Cynomolgus Monkeys.
  Calcified tissue international 2017 Matheny JB, Torres AM, Ominsky MS, Hernandez CJ
• Understanding Bone Strength Is Not Enough.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2017 Hernandez CJ, van der Meulen MC
• Macroporous acrylamide phantoms improve prediction of in vivo performance of in situ forming implants.
  Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society 2016 Hernandez C, Gawlik N, Goss M, Zhou H, Jeganathan S, Gilbert D, Exner AA
• LAT1 activity of carboxylic acid bioisosteres: Evaluation of hydroxamic acids as substrates.
  Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters 2016 Zur AA, Chien HC, Augustyn E, Flint A, Heeren N, Finke K, Hernandez C, Hansen L, Miller S, Lin L, Giacomini KM, Colas C, Schlessinger A, Thomas AA
• Improving performance of nanoscale ultrasound contrast agents using N,N-diethylacrylamide stabilization.
  Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine 2016 Perera RH, Wu H, Peiris P, Hernandez C, Burke A, Zhang H, Exner AA
• Links Between the Microbiome and Bone.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2016 Hernandez CJ, Guss JD, Luna M, Goldring SR
• Material heterogeneity in cancellous bone promotes deformation recovery after mechanical failure.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2016 Torres AM, Matheny JB, Keaveny TM, Taylor D, Rimnac CM, Hernandez CJ
• Validation of Ultrasound Elastography Imaging for Nondestructive Characterization of Stiffer Biomaterials.
  Annals of biomedical engineering 2015 Zhou H, Goss M, Hernandez C, Mansour JM, Exner A
• Ultrasound imaging beyond the vasculature with new generation contrast agents.
  Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology 2015 Perera RH, Hernandez C, Zhou H, Kota P, Burke A, Exner AA
• The effects of tensile-compressive loading mode and microarchitecture on microdamage in human vertebral cancellous bone.
  Journal of biomechanics 2014 Lambers FM, Bouman AR, Tkachenko EV, Keaveny TM, Hernandez CJ
• A microfluidic platform for profiling biomechanical properties of bacteria.
  Lab on a chip 2014 Sun X, Weinlandt WD, Patel H, Wu M, Hernandez CJ
• Microdamage caused by fatigue loading in human cancellous bone: relationship to reductions in bone biomechanical performance.
  PloS one 2013 Lambers FM, Bouman AR, Rimnac CM, Hernandez CJ
• Nanobubble ultrasound contrast agents for enhanced delivery of thermal sensitizer to tumors undergoing radiofrequency ablation.
  Pharmaceutical research 2013 Perera RH, Solorio L, Wu H, Gangolli M, Silverman E, Hernandez C, Peiris PM, Broome AM, Exner AA
• Biomechanical effects of simulated resorption cavities in cancellous bone across a wide range of bone volume fractions.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2012 Easley SK, Chang MT, Shindich D, Hernandez CJ, Keaveny TM
• Irradiation does not modify mechanical properties of cancellous bone under compression.
  Clinical orthopaedics and related research 2012 Hernandez CJ, Ramsey DS, Dux SJ, Chu EH, Rimnac CM
• Three-dimensional dynamic bone histomorphometry.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2012 Slyfield CR, Tkachenko EV, Wilson DL, Hernandez CJ
• Ectopic expression of SOX9 in osteoblasts alters bone mechanical properties.
  Calcified tissue international 2011 Liang B, Cotter MM, Chen D, Hernandez CJ, Zhou G
• Human evolution and osteoporosis-related spinal fractures.
  PloS one 2011 Cotter MM, Loomis DA, Simpson SW, Latimer B, Hernandez CJ
• Surface contaminants inhibit osseointegration in a novel murine model.
  Bone 2011 Bonsignore LA, Colbrunn RW, Tatro JM, Messerschmitt PJ, Hernandez CJ, Goldberg VM, Stewart MC, Greenfield EM
• Near-terminal creep damage does not substantially influence fatigue life under physiological loading.
  Journal of biomechanics 2011 Stern LC, Brinkman JG, Furmanski J, Rimnac CM, Hernandez CJ
• Trabecular microarchitecture of hominoid thoracic vertebrae.
  Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) 2009 Cotter MM, Simpson SW, Latimer BM, Hernandez CJ
• Voxel size and measures of individual resorption cavities in three-dimensional images of cancellous bone.
  Bone 2009 Tkachenko EV, Slyfield CR, Tomlinson RE, Daggett JR, Wilson DL, Hernandez CJ
• A biomechanical analysis of the effects of resorption cavities on cancellous bone strength.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2006 Hernandez CJ, Gupta A, Keaveny TM
• Trabecular microfracture and the influence of pyridinium and non-enzymatic glycation-mediated collagen cross-links.
  Bone 2005 Hernandez CJ, Tang SY, Baumbach BM, Hwu PB, Sakkee AN, van der Ham F, DeGroot J, Bank RA, Keaveny TM
• Genetic background influences cortical bone response to ovariectomy.
  Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2005 Li CY, Schaffler MB, Wolde-Semait HT, Hernandez CJ, Jepsen KJ