Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · 15d

This milestone reflects the support of incredible mentors, colleagues, trainees, and collaborators. I look forward to driving forward our work in skeletal muscle mechanobiology, bioengineering, and regenerative medicine, and through mentoring and training future scientists.

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Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · 15d

I am excited and honored to share my promotion to Associate Professor.

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Reposted by Woojin Han

NY-CURES @nycures.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚀 NY-CURES Launch — Championing State-Wide Investment in Science! 🚀

Our new coalition advocates for sustained public support of New York’s vibrant biomedical research ecosystem — creating cures, economic gains & strengthening communities.

Sign up. Stay informed. Join the movement: www.nycures.org/

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Reposted by Woojin Han

Larion Santiago @thelaar.bsky.social · Aug 28

Excited to share our new publication on mRNA-lipid nanoparticles for muscle regeneration! 💪🏼 Grateful for the guidance and teamwork that brought this project to life.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

WNT7A mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles Promote Muscle Hypertrophy and Reduce Fatty Infiltration - Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering

Purpose Myosteatosis and muscle atrophy are key pathological features of skeletal muscle degeneration in chronic injuries, degenerative myopathies, and aging. While recombinant WNT7A has shown promise...

link.springer.com

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Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · Aug 23

This recognition is especially meaningful to me. As a PhD student and postdoc, I had the chance to work with former EIC Prof. Michael King as an assistant editor supporting this journal. Now, I am grateful to current EIC Prof. Ed Sander and the selection committee for this honor.

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Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · Aug 23

With mRNA LNPs, we show that muscle cells can locally produce native WNT7A, leading to myofiber hypertrophy and reduced fatty infiltration in preclinical models. This establishes mRNA delivery as a promising strategy for scalable and localized protein production in muscle regeneration.

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Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · Aug 23

This study, led by our superstar grad student Larion Santiago @thelaar.bsky.social, used a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) mRNA platform to deliver WNT7A as a proof of concept cargo. WNT7A is a powerful regulator of muscle, but recombinant protein therapy faces major hurdles in delivery and scalability.

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Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · Aug 23

In this work, we asked if muscle cells and fibers could be transformed into an “in vivo protein factory” capable of producing regenerative signals.

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Woojin Han @thewooj.bsky.social · Aug 23

Our lab’s work is now published in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Journal, appearing in the 2025 Young Innovators Issue. I am excited to share it! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

WNT7A mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles Promote Muscle Hypertrophy and Reduce Fatty Infiltration - Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering

Purpose Myosteatosis and muscle atrophy are key pathological features of skeletal muscle degeneration in chronic injuries, degenerative myopathies, and aging. While recombinant WNT7A has shown promise...

link.springer.com

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