Nadeen O. Chahine, PhD

Nadeen Chahine, PhD, is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University in New York City. She has an interdisciplinary joint faculty appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and is affiliate faculty in Cellular and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics program and the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative. In 2025, Dr. Chahine became the first female tenured professor in the department's more than 150-year history. She directs a multidisciplinary research lab and serves as the Associate Director of the Carroll Laboratories for Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. She co-directs an NIH T32 training program on ‘Interdisciplinary Musculoskeletal Training Program’ and is co-PI of an ARPA-H funded project on ‘Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis’. She is past chair of the Cell and Molecular Bioengineering Council (CMBE) of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), past chair of the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) Spine Section, former member of the ORS Board of Directors, and was a standing member on the NIH’s Skeletal Biology and Skeletal Regeneration (SBSR) study section. Dr. Chahine has been the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, BMES CMBE Rising Star Award, ORS Adele Boskey Award, and is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers.

Dr. Chahine holds a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University. She completed her graduate studies at Columbia University, having earned a Master’ of Science (2002), Master of Philosophy (2006) and Doctor of Philosophy (2006) in Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Chahine completed her post-doctoral training as an Ernest Lawrence Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Department of Energy), where she trained in micro and nanotechnology. In 2009, she started a faculty position at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York. Dr. Chahine joined the faculty at Columbia University in 2017 as an Associate Professor in Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Chahine’s research focuses on degeneration and regeneration of the intervertebral disc in the spine and joints. She is applying tools of bioengineering, cell and tissue biomechanics, and animal physiology to study the function of the disc and disc cells, with emphasis on degradation processes and inflammation. She also collaborates with physicians in the departments of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, where she is leading a pioneering research program on biomarkers of intervertebral disc disorders and back pain. Dr. Chahine’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), New York State Department of Health (ECRIP program), and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM).