Juntong Lai, PhD

Research Associate, INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering,University of Sheffield

I am a Research Associate in Computational Biomechanics in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Sheffield, and a member of the INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine. My research develops computational and mathematical models to understand musculoskeletal disease mechanisms and support clinically relevant decision-making.

I completed my PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2026, fully funded by a UKRI EPSRC studentship under the supervision of Prof. Damien Lacroix. I am currently working on METASTRA, a Horizon Europe project developing computational tools for fracture-risk stratification and personalised treatment planning in vertebral metastases.

Professional Activities

Early-career researcher representative with the Insigneo Early Career Researcher (ECR) Committee
Member of the Young Scientists Committee (YSC) of the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) Society

Research Highlights

Inflammation and Obesity in Osteoarthritis

This work developed a five-variable mechanistic model of obesity-associated osteoarthritis inflammation. The simulations examined how adipokines, BMI, physical activity level, and tissue damage influence inflammatory dynamics, including the dynamics of inflammation and the timing of physical activity interventions.

Schematic inflammatory network of cartilage incorporating pro-inflammatory cytokines, anti-inflammatory cytokines, MMPs, fibronectin fragments, and adipokines modulated by BMI and physical activity level

Figure 1. Schematic inflammatory network of cartilage.
From: Lai J, Lacroix D. PLoS One 2025; 20(6): e0323258.
© 2025 Lai & Lacroix. Open access under CC BY 4.0.

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Publications

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Lai J, Lacroix D. A computational study of adiposity-associated factors in the inflammatory process of osteoarthritis. Journal of Theoretical Biology 2026; 625: 112429. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2026.112429
Lai J, Lacroix D. Mathematical modelling of inflammatory process and obesity in osteoarthritis. PLoS One 2025; 20(6): e0323258. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0323258
Lai J, Tomlinson J, Breakwell L, Lacroix D. A finite element study of the effect of cross-link stabilisation in a lumbar spine tumour model. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine. 2025. doi:10.1177/09544119251348279