About

Professor Corey P. Neu is affiliated with the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he leads the Soft Tissue Bioengineering Laboratory. His research focuses on the development of technology for the fundamental study and engineering of connective and cardiac tissues. The lab aims to provide new therapies by studying basic mechanobiology, with the ultimate goal of treating disorders such as arthritis and fibrosis, and improving quality of life. Key objectives include creating scalable, integrated imaging tools to noninvasively probe tissue and cellular functions, understanding the roles of physical factors in tissue growth, development, and maintenance, and developing strategies for tissue repair and regeneration. The lab emphasizes mechanics as a central theme, exploring mechanisms of physical force regulation, stress and strain transfer across hierarchical scales, the relationship between force and gene expression, tissue stiffness, energy storage, and tribology. The research involves interdisciplinary activities that span multiple engineering and biological disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, micro/nanotechnological, biochemical, and physiological subspecialties.

Research topics

• Cell biology
• Biology
• Genetics
• Chemistry
• Biophysics
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Neuroscience
• Medicine
• Anatomy
• Biomedical engineering

Selected publications

• Granular Extracellular Matrix (gECM) Hydrogels Enable Distinct Composition and Mechanics Across Tissue Types for Translation

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-05-11

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Biomaterials-based tissue engineering aims to recapitulate native tissue architecture and function for both clinical repair and advanced in vitro models. While improvements in biomaterials have been made, including granular hydrogels and ECM-derived scaffolds, current biomaterials lack intentional design choices for effective translation, including regulatory considerations, practical extrusion delivery, and biomimetic characteristics. Here, we develop and characterize a library of granular ECM (gECM) biomaterials for five key tissues (cartilage, bone, skin, liver, and kidney), in which ECM particles are densely packed within a hyaluronic acid hydrogel. We optimize tissue processing methods that preserve proteomic content and structure while also aligning with scale-up manufacturing and regulatory guidelines. We show that gECM hydrogels can be molded, extruded, and 3D-printed while retaining their shape, and they stabilize at physiological temperature and pH. Lastly, we demonstrate that bulk gECM mechanics are driven by tissue type, and gECM hydrogels support viability, proliferation, and tissue-specific cellular activity. Together, these findings establish gECM hydrogels as a translational and biomimetic platform for clinical tissue repair and complex in vitro models.

  PublisherDOI

• In vivo cartilage strain differentiates symptomatic, asymptomatic, and healthy knees six months after ACL reconstruction

  Osteoarthritis and Cartilage · 2026-02-02 · 2 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Early Imaging Biomarkers of Cartilage Strain After ACL Reconstruction Predict Patient Pain and Altered Knee Loading

  Annals of Biomedical Engineering · 2026-04-03

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  PURPOSE: To investigate temporal evolution of cartilage strain and relaxometry following ACL reconstruction, and examine associations between MRI metrics, pain, and knee loading patterns during gait as potential early markers of cartilage degeneration. METHODS: Twenty-five participants (15 female, 10 male; mean age 25.6 years) undergoing ACL reconstruction completed MRI assessments at 6 and 12 month post-surgery, including displacement-encoding MRI (intratissue strain) and quantitative relaxometry (T2, T2*, T1ρ). Pain was evaluated using patient-reported outcome scores. Gait analysis quantified knee adduction moment, knee extension moment, and knee flexion moment at 12 months in a subset of patients. Correlations between MRI metrics in cartilage contact regions, patient-reported outcomes, and knee loading were evaluated. RESULTS: Between 6 and 12 month post-reconstruction, increased tibial compressive and transverse strains correlated with worsening pain, while increased tibial shear strain associated with reduced pain and improved outcomes. Participants demonstrating greater symptom improvement exhibited higher knee adduction moments, which associated with favorable compositional changes including decreased femoral T1ρ and decreased tibial hydrostatic strain. Higher knee extension moments associated with increased tibial compressive and hydrostatic strain. CONCLUSION: Cartilage strain and T1ρ changes associate with pain and altered loading patterns, suggesting potential as early post-traumatic osteoarthritis markers. The observed links between knee loading patterns and cartilage structural changes highlight beneficial adaptation of the reconstructed knee to mechanical loading, and potential avenues for early therapeutic (gait-modifiable) intervention. Advanced MRI may enable early identification of at-risk patients following ACL reconstruction.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• T2 and T1ρ Mapping Reveals Time-Dependent Cartilage Response to In-Scanner Cyclic Compression After ACL Reconstruction

  Osteoarthritis and Cartilage · 2026-05-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Flowable Grafts Made from Granular Extracellular Matrix (gECM) Hydrogels Promote Integrative Repair of Articular Cartilage in a Large-Animal Model

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-05-09

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Focal injuries to articular cartilage in load-bearing joints fail to heal and often progress to degeneration, underscoring the need for repair strategies that result in restored cartilage structure and function rather than fibrocartilage formation. Granular extracellular matrix (gECM) hydrogels, flowable grafts composed of densely-packed matrix particles, offer a promising approach but lack long-term functional validation in large-animal models. Here, we developed a flowable gECM hydrogel composed of decellularized cartilage microparticles incorporated within a thiol-functionalized hyaluronan matrix. Proteomic analysis confirmed enrichment of cartilage-specific gECM matrisome components. When implanted into critical-sized femoral condyle defects in a goat model and evaluated 12 months post-implantation, both gECM hydrogel and microdrilling (surgical controls) achieved >80% defect filling. However, in contrast to microdrilling, gECM repair tissue exhibited surface tribological (friction, adhesion) and compressive mechanical properties comparable to native cartilage, with a similar proteoglycan-to-collagen ratio, enrichment of type II collagen, minimal type I collagen (typical of a fibrous scar), improved quantitative MRI metrics, and evidence of lateral cartilage integration and subchondral bone remodeling. Together, these findings demonstrate that a flowable gECM hydrogel supports integrative, cartilage-like repair in a load-bearing joint, supporting advancement of this approach toward clinical translation. One Sentence Summary: A granular ECM hydrogel implanted in a goat condyle provided a robust repair, filling the defect tissue with integrated, hyaline-like cartilage at 12 months.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author response for "Vector-free DNA transfection by nuclear envelope mechanoporation"

  2026-02-15

  peer-review
  PublisherDOI

• Intervertebral Disc Elastography to Relate Shear Modulus and Relaxometry in Compression and Bending [Data]

  Purdue University Research Repository · 2026-04-08

  datasetOpen access

  <p>Intervertebral disc degeneration is the most recognized cause of low back pain, characterized by the decline in tissue structure and mechanics. Image-based mechanical parameters (e.g., strain, stiffness) may provide an ideal assessment of disc function that is lost with degeneration, but unfortunately, these remain underdeveloped. Moreover, it is unknown whether strain or stiffness of the disc may be predicted by MRI relaxometry (e.g., T1 or T2), an increasingly accepted quantitative measure of disc structure. In this study, we quantified T1 and T2 relaxation times and compared to in-plane strains measured with displacement-encoded MRI within human cadaveric discs under physiological levels of compression and bending. Using a novel inverse approach, we then estimated shear modulus in orthogonal image planes and regionally compared these values to relaxation times and 2D strains. Intratissue strain depended on the loading mode, and shear modulus in the nucleus pulposus was typically an order of magnitude lower than the annulus fibrosus. Relative shear moduli estimated from strain data derived under compression generally did not correspond with those from bending experiments. Only one anatomical region showed a significant correlation between relative shear modulus and relaxometry (T1 vs. µrel, coronal plane under bending). Together, these results suggest that future inverse analyses may be improved by incorporating multiple loading conditions into the same model and that image-based elastography and relaxometry should be viewed as complementary measures of disc structure and function to assess degeneration in future studies.</p>

  PublisherDOI

• Vector-free DNA transfection by nuclear envelope mechanoporation

  Lab on a Chip · 2026-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Genetic engineering of cells has a range of applications in treating incurable diseases. Plasmid DNA is a popular choice of nucleic acid for cell engineering due to its low cost and stability. However, plasmid DNA must survive the protective mechanisms present in the cell's cytoplasm to enter the nucleus for translation. Many of the existing methods for nucleic acid delivery, such as chemical-based and virus-based delivery, suffer from drawbacks induced by the nucleic acid carrier itself. Mechanical methods present an alternative to nucleic acid carriers by physically producing openings in the cell to deliver cargos. However, in most systems, the cell membrane openings are too small to deliver large cargos, or the poration process leads to low cell viability. In this study, we present a microfluidic device with integrated high aspect ratio nanostructures that repeatably rupture the cell membrane and nuclear envelope. These sharp-tipped nanolancets penetrate the cell deep enough to allow direct delivery of cargos into the nucleus, but still allow for cell recovery after treatment. We show the device's ability to deliver cargo to a variety of cell types while maintaining high viability. Then, we demonstrate the rapid onset of plasmid DNA expression that results from direct nuclear delivery of naked DNA, showing expression speeds comparable to microinjection, but with significantly greater throughput. We envision the use of this device as a tool to quickly produce high quantities of genetically engineered cells to treat a myriad of diseases.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mechanical Stress Triggers Premature Senescence in Cardiac Fibroblasts

  Advanced Science · 2025-09-26 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The cardiovascular system functions under continuous cyclic mechanical stretch, with disruptions in mechanical and biochemical signals contributing to disease progression. In cardiovascular disorders, these disruptions activate cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and promote cellular senescence, yet it remains unclear whether mechanical stimuli alone can initiate this phenotype. Here, primary murine CFs are exposed to uniaxial stretch, and systematically varied mechanical parameters assessed their role in senescence induction. Loss of stretch magnitude and increase in frequency, mimicking a pathologic hypertrophy and fibrosis, led to a senescence phenotype, identified through cell cycle arrest, decreased lamin B expression, and DNA damage. Mechanically-induced CF senescence depends on p53/p21, whereas senescence triggered by oxidative stress or lamin A/C mutation proceeded via p16. Notably, mechanically-induced premature senescence is accompanied by reduced levels of the nuclear envelope protein emerin. These findings demonstrate that altered mechanical signals are sufficient to trigger premature senescence and implicate compromised nuclear integrity in the underlying mechanism.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• High-throughput mechanical nuclear envelope rupture and the intracellular dynamics of massive wound repair

  Research Square · 2025-03-28

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Biomechanics of Human Articular Cartilage Measured In Vivo

  NIH · $357k · 2014–2018

• NIH Grant F32EB003371

  NIH · $131k · 2007

• Stress Distributions Determined in Short T2 BioMaterials by MRI-based Finite Strain and Mathematical Modeling

  NSF · $360k · 2011–2015

• Probing Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis by Noninvasive Imaging of Cartilage Strain

  NIH · $475k · 2013–2024

• CAREER: Direct Measurement of Intranuclear Strain and Gene Expression in Single Cells in Vivo

  NSF · $400k · 2014–2015

Frequent coauthors

• Deva D. Chan

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  33 shared

• Joseph J. Crisco

  Brown University

  31 shared

• Benjamin Seelbinder

  Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

  30 shared

• Scott W. Wolfe

  28 shared

• Tyler Novak

  Cook Biotech (United States)

  27 shared

• Sandi Pike

  Brown University

  25 shared

• Luyao Cai

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  24 shared

• Stephanie E. Schneider

  University of Colorado Boulder

  21 shared