Ara Nazarian
Post Doctoral Fellow

Phone: 617.667.8512
Fax:      617.667.7175
Email:  anazaria@bidmc.harvard.edu

Background

I am a post doctoral fellow in the field of biomedical engineering at the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory. My Ph.D. thesis advisors were Dr. Ralph Müller from the Biomechanics Group at the ETH Zürich, and Dr. Brian Snyder from the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory in Boston ( Harvard Medical School ). My master’s thesis, entitled “Image-Guided Micro-Compression: A Novel Technique for the Nondestructive Assessment of Local Bone Failure,” was completed under the guidance of Dr. Ralph Müller. 

Currently, I am working with Dr. Snyder on monitoring the effects of breast cancer treatment on bone structural behavior at sites of skeletal metastasis. Different treatment options (chemotherapy vs. radiation vs. bisphosphonate) alter the structural behavior of bones affected by skeletal metastasis differently. Whole bone structural behavior depends on both the geometric organization and the material properties of bone tissue. Based on the results of the current study, skeletal metastases appear to alter bone micro-structural geometry to a greater extent than bone tissue properties. 

Publications:

1. A. Nazarian, R. Müller. Time-lapsed microstructural imaging of bone failure behavior. Journal of Biomechanics, 37 (1) :55-65, 2004.
2. M.A. Kacena, R.A. Shivdasani, K. Wilson, Y. Xi, N. Troiano, A. Nazarian, C.M. Gundberg, M.L. Bouxsein, J.A. Lorenzo, M.C. Horowitz . Megakaryocyte-Osteoblast Interaction Revealed in Mice Deficient in Transcription Factors GATA-1 and NF-E2. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 19 (4) :652-60, 2004.
3. A. Nazarian, M. Stauber, R. Müller. Design and implementation of a novel mechanical testing system for cellular solids. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research-Part B: Biomaterials, 73B (2) : 400-411, 2005.
4. O.B. Betz, V.M. Betz, A. Nazarian, C.G. Pilapil, M.S. Vrahas, M.L. Bouxsein, L.C. Gerstenfeld, T.A. Einhorn, C.H. Evans. Direct percutaneous gene delivery to enhance healing of segmental bone defects. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery-American, 88:355-365, 2006.
5. A. Nazarian, M. Stauber, D. Zurakowski, B.D. Snyder, R. Müller. The interaction of microstructure and volume fraction in predicting failure in cancellous bone, Bone, 39:1196-1202, 2006.
6. L. Meinel, O.B. Betz, R.J. Fajardo, S. Hofmann, A. Nazarian, M. Hilbe, J. McCool, R. Langer, G. Vunjak-Novakovic, H.P. Merkle, B. Rechenberg, D.L. Kaplan, C. Kirker-Head. Silk based biomaterials to heal critical sized femur defects, Bone, 39 (4) :922-931, 2006.
7. D.A. Chesler, G. Dai, J.L. Ackerman, M.I. Hrovat, M.J. Glimcher, B.D. Snyder, A. Nazarian, and Y. Wu. Water and fat suppressed proton projection MRI (WASPI) of rat femur bone, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 57 (3) :554-567, 2007.
8. A. Nazarian, J.A. Muller, D. Zurakowski, R. Müller, B.D. Snyder. Densitometric, morphometric and mechanical distributions in the human proximal femur, Journal of Biomechanics, 40(11):2473-2579, 2007.
9. C. Kirker-Head, V. Karageorgiou, S. Hofmann, R. Fajardo, O. Betz, H.P. Merkle, M. Hilbe, B. von Rechenberg, J. McCool, L. Abrahamsen, A. Nazarian, E. Cory, M. Curtis, D. Kaplan, L. Meinel. BMP-silk composite matrices heal critically sized femoral defects, Bone, 41(2): 247–255, 2007.
10. O. Betz, V. Betz, A. Nazarian, M. Egermann, L.C. Gerstenfeld, T.A. Einhorn, M.S. Vrahas, M.L. Bouxsein, C.H. Evans. Effect of the timing of adenoviral BMP-2 gene delivery on the healing of bone defects, Gene Therapy, 14(13):1039-1044, 2007.
11. A. Nazarian, D. Zurakowski, R. Müller and B.D. Snyder. Quantitative micro-computed tomography: a non-invasive method to assess equivalent bone tissue density. Bone, 43: 302-311, 2008.
12. A. Nazarian, E. Cory, R. Müller, B. Snyder (in print).  Shortcomings of DXA in measuring differential changes in bone tissue density and structural morphology induced by metabolic bone diseases in cortical and cancellous bone in rat models, Osteoporosis International, 2008.
13. A. Nazarian, B. Hermannsson, B.D. Snyder (accepted for publication). Effects of tissue preservation on murine bone mechanical properties, Journal of Biomechanics, 2008.
14. A. Nazarian, D. von Stechow, D. Zurakowski, R Müller and B.D. Snyder (accepted for publication). Bone volume fraction explains the variation in yield strength and stiffness of cancellous bone affected by metastatic cancer and osteoporosis, Calcified Tissue International, 2008.
15. A. Nazarian, D. Meier, R. Müller, B.D. Snyder (under review) . The functional dependence of cancellous bone shear properties on trabecular microstructure evaluated using time-lapsed micro-computed tomographic imaging and torsion testing, Journal of Orthopaedic research, 2008.
16. Ara Nazarian, M. Bauernschmitt, C. Eberle, D. Meier, R. Müller, B.D. Snyder (under review). Design and validation of a testing system to assess torsional cancellous bone failure in conjunction with time-lapsed micro-computed tomographic imaging, Journal of Biomechanics, 2008.
17. A. Nazarian, V. Entezari, V. Vartanians, R. Mueller, B.D. Snyder (under review). An improved method to assess torsional properties of rodent long bones, Journal of Biomechanics, 2008.
18. A. Nazarian, E. Cory, V. Entezari, V. Vartanians, R. Müller, B. Snyder (under review). Compressive Axial Mechanical Properties of Rat Bone as Functions of Bone Volume Fraction, Apparent Density and Micro-CT Based Mineral Density for Virtual Bone Biomechanical Analysis, Journal of Biomechanics, 2008.