Blaine A Christiansen

Picture of Blaine A Christiansen
Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
School of Medicine
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, 2007, Biomedical Engineering
M.S., Washington University in St. Louis, 2005, Biomedical Engineering
B.S., University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 2001, Biological Systems Engineering
University of California, Irvine
1001 Health Sciences Rd
Med Sci C340E
Irvine, CA 92617
Research Interests
Bone Adaptation, Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis, Systemic Bone Loss, ACL Injury, Mechanobiology
Appointments
Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies, Boston, MA
Research Abstract
The Christiansen Lab investigates the adaptation of musculoskeletal tissues, particularly bone and cartilage, to the mechanical environment, injury, or disease using small animal models. The musculoskeletal system has an innate ability to repair and optimize itself based on the mechanical demands placed on it. By studying this adaptation, we are able to uncover the underlying mechanisms that contribute to diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Awards and Honors
• 2021: American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Mid-Career Travel Grant
• 2020: Member, Sigma Xi – The Scientific Research Honor Society
• 2014: International Bone and Mineral Society, Sun Valley Workshop: Musculoskeletal Biology, Alice L. Jee Memorial Young Investigator Award
• 2014: American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Junior Faculty Osteoporosis Research Award
• 2011: International Bone and Mineral Society/American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Harold M. Frost Young Investigator Award
• 2010: American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Young Investigator Award
• 2010: United States Bone and Joint Decade – Young Investigators Initiative
• 2005: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Summer Bioengineering Conference, 1st Place- Student Paper Competition
Publications
Orr SV, Gilmore NK, Pathak S, Edan HA, Langer H, Baar K, Christiansen BA. Age-dependent musculoskeletal changes during mechanical unloading with bisphosphonate treatment. Bone. 2026;210:117924.
Yao W, Wise BL, Lin YY, Fan M, Xu S, Ju IS, Berg JI, Silverman JL, Loots GG, Christiansen BA. Brain and knee joint degeneration following anterior cruciate ligament injury in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. JBMR Plus. 2026;10:(7):ziag085.
Tseng MC, Wise PM, Osipov B, Song H, Lin YQ, Yeh J, Gallardo O, Wang A, Palmieri T, Lee MA, Christiansen BA. Treatment effects of bisphosphonates compared to oxandrolone on burn-induced bone loss and recovery in mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. 2026; DOI: 10.1097/BOT.0000000000003211.
Osipov B, Robison L, Hanel J, Orr SV, Lin YY, Buxton A, Rahmati M, Tseng MC, Renato MR, Shenoy R, Bhat AS, Saiz A, Ferguson VL, Loots GG, Christiansen BA. Ketogenic diet causes bone loss in growing and adult mice and reduces the skeletal response to exercise. Bone. 2026;207:117854.
Lin YY, Ju IS, Morfin C, Jbeily EH, Sebastian A, Lee CA, Loots GG, Christiansen BA. Early unloading after ACL rupture and prior to surgical restabilization in mice slows post-traumatic osteoarthritis progression. Cartilage. 2026;19476035251411505.
Takahata K, Lin YY, Osipov B, Arakawa K, Enomoto S, Christiansen BA, Kokubun T. Concurrent joint contact in anterior cruciate ligament injury induces cartilage micro-injury and subchondral bone sclerosis, resulting in knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2025;S1063-4584(25)01058-1.
Tjandra PM, Orr SV, Lam SK, Kulkarni AD, Chen YJ, Adhikari A, Silverman JL, Ripplinger CM, Christiansen BA. Investigating the role of complement 5a in systemic bone loss after myocardial infarction. Bone. 2025;198:117543.
Lin YY, Christiansen BA. The beneficial and detrimental effects of exercise and unloading on OA progression after anterior cruciate ligament injury. Connective Tissue Research. 2025;23:1-7.
Orr SV, Pereira GC, Christiansen BA. Justification of Body Mass Index cutoffs for hip and knee joint arthroplasty among California orthopedic surgeons. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. 2025; 20:(1):125.
Osipov B, Emami AJ, Cunningham HC, Orr S, Lin YY, Jbeily EH, Punati RS, Murugesh DK, Zukowski HM, Loots GG, Carney R, Vargas D, Ferguson VL, Christiansen BA. Altered post-fracture systemic bone loss in a mouse model of osteocyte dysfunction. JBMR Plus. 2024;8:(12):ziae135.
Tjandra PM, Ripplinger CR, Christiansen BA. The heart-bone connection: relationships between myocardial infarction and osteoporotic fracture. American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2024;326:(3):H845-H856.
Lin YY, Jbeily EH, Tjandra PM, Pride MC, Lopez-Torres M, Elmankabadi SB, Delman CM, Biris KK, Bang H, Silverman JL, Lee CA, Christiansen BA. Surgical restabilization reduces the progression of post-traumatic osteoarthritis initiated by ACL rupture in mice. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2024;32:(8):909-920.
Jbeily EH, Lin YY, Elmankabadi SB, Osipov B, June RK, Christiansen BA. Validation of a low-cost portable device for inducing non-invasive ACL injury in mice. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 2023;145:(11):114501.
Haudenschild AK, Christiansen BA, Orr S, Ball EE, Weiss CM, Liu H, Fyhrie DP, Yik JHN, Coffey LL, Haudenschild DR. Acute bone loss following SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2023;41:(9):1945-1952.
Cunningham HC, Orr S, Murugesh DK, Hsia AW, Osipov B, Go L, Wu PH, Wong A, Loots GG, Kazakia GJ, Christiansen BA. Differential bone adaptation to mechanical unloading and reloading in young, old, and osteocyte deficient mice. Bone. 2023;167:116646.
Christiansen BA, Chan DD, van der Meulen MCH, Maerz T. Small-animal compression models of osteoarthritis. Methods in Molecular Biology: Cartilage Tissue Engineering. 2023;2598:345-356.
Hsia AW, Jbeily EH, Mendez ME, Cunningham HC, Biris KK, Bang H, Lee CA, Loots GG, Christiansen BA. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis progression is diminished by early mechanical unloading and anti-inflammatory treatment in mice. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2021;29:(12):1709-1719.
Osipov B, Paralkar MP, Emami AJ, Cunningham HC, Tjandra PM, Pathak S, Langer HT, Baar K, Christiansen BA. Sex differences in systemic bone and muscle loss following femur fracture in mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2021;40:(4):878-890.
Emami AJ, Sebastian A, Lin YY, Yee CS, Osipov B, Loots GG, Alliston T, Christiansen BA. Altered canalicular remodeling associated with femur fracture in mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2021;40:(4):891-900.
Osipov B, Christiansen BA. Mechanisms for increased systemic fracture risk after index fracture. Medicine in Novel Technology and Devices. 2021;11:100072.
Tjandra PM, Paralkar MP, Osipov B, Chen YJ, Zhao F, Ripplinger CM, Christiansen BA. Systemic bone loss following myocardial infarction in mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2021;39:(4):739-749.
Ely EV, Osipov B, Emami AJ, Christiansen BA. Region-dependent bone loss in the lumbar spine following femoral fracture in mice. Bone. 2020;140:115555.
Emami AJ, Toupadakis CA, Telek SM, Fyhrie DP, Yellowley CE, Christiansen BA. Age dependence of systemic bone loss and recovery following femur fracture in mice. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2019;34:(1):157-70.
Osipov B, Emami AJ, Christiansen BA. Systemic bone loss after fracture. Clinical Reviews in Bone and Mineral Metabolism. 2018;16:(4):116-30.
Christiansen BA, Litwack-Harrison S, Fink HA, Lane NE. Incident fracture is associated with a period of accelerated loss of hip BMD: the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Osteoporosis International. 2018;29:(10):2201-9.
Cunningham HC, West DWD, Baehr LM, Baar K, Bodine SC, Christiansen BA. Age-dependent recovery of bone during reloading following a period of hindlimb unloading in rats. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2018;19:(1):223.
Hsia AW, Tarke FD, Shelton TJ, Tjandra PM, Christiansen BA. Comparison of knee injury threshold during tibial compression based on limb orientation in mice. Journal of Biomechanics. 2018;6:(74):220-4.
Hsia AW, Emami AJ, Tarke FD, Cunningham HC, Tjandra PM, Wong A, Christiansen BA, Collette NM. Osteophytes and fracture calluses share developmental milestones and are diminished by unloading. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2018;36:(2):699-710.
Grants
R01 AG078347 (Kazakia, Christiansen) Systemic Bone Loss Following Fracture in Humans
AT240129 (Christiansen) Determining the Timing and Duration of Biomechanical Treatments for Preventing Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
Professional Societies
Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS)
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)
Other Experience
Associate, Automotive Injury Biomechanics Consulting
Peter R. Thom and Associates Inc. 2010—2014
Graduate Programs
Biomedical Engineering
Last updated
07/10/2026