Overview
The Musah Lab is interested in understanding how molecular signals and biophysical forces can function either synergistically or independently to guide organ development and physiology, and how these processes can be therapeutically harnessed to treat human disease. Given the escalating medical crisis in nephrology as growing number of patients suffer from kidney disease that can lead to organ failure, the Musah Lab focuses on engineering stem cell fate for applications in human kidney disease, extra-renal complications, and therapeutic development. Dr. Musah’s research interests include stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, molecular and cellular basis of human organ development and disease progression, organ engineering, patient-specific disease models, biomarker identification, therapeutic discovery, tissue and organ transplantation, microphysiological systems including Organ Chips (organs-on-chips) and organoids, matrix biology, mechanotransduction and disease biophysics.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
·
2019 - Present
Biomedical Engineering,
Pratt School of Engineering
Assistant Professor in Medicine
·
2019 - Present
Medicine, Nephrology,
Medicine
Assistant Professor in Cell Biology
·
2021 - Present
Cell Biology,
Basic Science Departments
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
·
2019 - Present
Duke Cancer Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center
·
2021 - Present
Duke Regeneration Center,
Basic Science Departments
Recent Publications
Engineered human induced pluripotent stem cell models reveal altered podocytogenesis in congenital heart disease-associated SMAD2 mutations.
Journal Article Nature biomedical engineering · November 2025 Clinical observations of patients with congenital heart disease carrying SMAD2 genetic variants revealed correlations with multi-organ impairments at the developmental and functional levels. Many patients with congenital heart disease present with glomerul ... Full text CiteDecoding cell fate: human models reveal how SMAD2 variants shape development.
Journal Article Nature reviews. Genetics · September 2025 Full text CiteA human stem cell-derived model reveals pathologic extracellular matrix remodeling in diabetic podocyte injury.
Journal Article Matrix biology plus · December 2024 Diabetic nephropathy results from chronic (or uncontrolled) hyperglycemia and is the leading cause of kidney failure. The kidney's glomerular podocytes are highly susceptible to diabetic injury and subsequent non-reversible degeneration. We generated a hum ... Full text Open Access CiteRecent Grants
TRIO NRSA Training Core-Pre Doc Trainee
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2023 - 2028Amanda Barreto HHMI Fellowship
FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute · 2024 - 2027Harnessing stem cells and synthetic gene circuits to repair glomerular injury
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2023 - 2027View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of Wisconsin, Madison ·
2013
Ph.D.