Jinhu Xiong, M.D., Ph.D.

Jinhu Xiong, M.D., Ph.D.Jinhu Xiong, M.D., Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UAMS. He earned his medical degree from Xianning College of Medicine followed by an MS at the Medical School of Wuhan University while working as a research assistant in the Institute of Virology. After his medical training, Dr. Xiong continued at Wuhan University, where he was a lecturer in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Science and supervisor of the Clinical Immunology Laboratory at the Zhongnan Hospital. In 2007, Dr. Xiong joined UAMS as a graduate assistant in Dr. Charles O’Brien’s laboratory in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. He earned his Ph.D. at UAMS in 2012. His dissertation work focused on identifying the molecular interactions between different cell types that promote bone resorption. This led to the landmark finding published in Nature Medicine that osteocytes, not RANKL, control osteoclast formation.

In 2016, Dr. Xiong joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and developed into one of several leading scientists focused on bone biology as part of the Center for Musculoskeletal Disease Research (CMDR), a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at UAMS awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. In 2020, Dr. Xiong became independently funded after being awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases to study how physical activity improves bone health, with possible implications for osteoporosis- and age-related bone loss. Dr. Xiong has published approximately 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts, with over 4500 citations to date. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of Bone and Bone Reports.

Research Focus:

My laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the skeleton responds to mechanical loading.

Current Projects:

Currently funded projects in my laboratory investigate the role of mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 in bone homeostasis and mechanotransduction. Other projects in his laboratory include the role of transcriptional cofactors YAP/TAZ in different stages of osteoblast differentiation, contribution of the decline in mechanical stimulation to age-associated bone loss, identification of cellular sources of mechanosenstive cells in periosteum, and the efficacy of Piezo1 agonists in preventing bone loss associated with unloading and aging.

Our lab has established several in vitro and in vivo models to simulate mechanical stimulation and unloading in cells and mice to study mechanotransduction in bone cells. I currently serve as a lead investigator on several federally-funded grants, including:

      • R01 Award: Investigating the role of Piezo1 in bone homeostasis and mechanotransduction
      • R01 Award: Osteocyte Control of Bone Remodeling
      • Core Director, Histology, Biomechanics, and Human Tissue Core of NIH/NIGMS CMDR P20 Award