• Fracture Fixations and Evaluations
• Stem Cell Characterizations and Therapies
• Musculoskeletal Tissue Imaging and Analysis

(1) Whole MSK Tissue Visualization and Intelligent Analysis – The team led by Jerry Xu established advanced imaging platforms (micro-CT, MRI, histochemical staining of transparent MKS tissues) combined with AI-driven segmentation and pattern recognition for holistic and multi-scale assessment. This approach captures structural anomalies, mineralization patterns, and degenerative changes with high throughput.

(2) R&D of Biodegradable Implants for Orthopaedic Applications – Development of Mg‑based composites that provide temporary mechanical support and meanwhile exert biological activities to promote osteointegration for fracture fixation and ligament reconstruction.

(3) Pathologies of Challenging Musculoskeletal Disorders – Investigation of complex conditions such as periprosthetic joint infection, osteoradionecrosis, bone fracture delayed healing or non-union, and chronic tendinopathy. Emphasis on multifactorial etiology, diagnostic pitfalls, and preclinical models that recapitulate human disease for therapeutic screening.

(4) Mechanosensitive Factors in Bone, Tendon, and Tendon‑Bone Insertions – Characterization of mechanotransduction pathways (YAP/TAZ, Piezo1, Wnt) that translate load into matrix adaptation. Focus on enthesis biology, graded mineralization, and cyclic strain protocols to engineer stronger tendon‑bone interfaces for rotator cuff and ACL repairs.

As an Assistant Professor in ORT and deputy director of the Areas of Excellence Centre for Musculoskeletal Degeneration and Regeneration, Jerry Xu mainly focuses on developing innovative biomaterials to enhance tendon, bone, and cartilage regeneration. With a clinical training background in Orthopaedics and an in-depth understanding of musculoskeletal disorders, Jerry has published over 100 peer-reviewed SCI articles (total impact factor >700, cumulative citations >6200, H-index 42) in regenerative medicine. His representative works include original publications in Nature Medicine (2016), Advanced Materials (2024, 2025), Materials Today (2022, 2023), Journal of Clinical Investigation (2024), Nature Communications (2021), Advanced Functional Materials (2023), Biomaterials (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025), and ACS Central Science (2019).

Above efforts have earned Jerry numerous academic awards, including Webster Jee Young Investigator (2016), Savio L.Y. Woo Young Researcher (2018), COA Basic Research Award (2024), COA Innovation & Translation Award (2025), Research Excellence Award (Faculty of Medicine, 2022) from CUHK, and Tigris Education Fund. As principal investigator, Jerry has been supported by the General Research Fund (GRF), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Young Scholar & General Schemes), the Health & Medical Research Fund, Direct Grants from CUHK, and other regional grants. In addition, he has founded three start-ups (Targene Biotech, Mag Med Biotech, and HuaMg Perfection), aiming to push forward clinical applications of the self-developed products, with support from the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong and other external funding.

Jerry is a lifetime member of ICMRS and a founding member of the Sports Medicine Physician Union in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He also actively supports peer review and serves as a reviewer for many international journals.

1. 廣東省生物醫藥健康促進會科技獎 – 「創新成果獎」一等獎, 廣東省生物醫藥健康促進會 (2025)
2. 骨科創新與轉化獎, 中華醫學會骨科學分會 (2025)
3. Geneva International Invention Gold Medal with Jury Congratulations, Geneva International Exhibition (2025)
4. International Invention Fair in the Middle East Gold Medal, Kuwait Science Club (2025)
5. 骨科基礎青年學者獎, 中華醫學會骨科學分會 (2024)
6. Silicon Valley Invention Silver Medal, United Inventors Association (2024)
7. 中國生物材料學會科學技術獎一等獎, 中國生物材料學會 (2023)
8. Research Excellence Award, Research Committee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2022)
9. 中華醫學科技獎二等獎, 中華醫學會 (2018)
10. Savio L.Y. Woo Young Researcher Award, 國際肌腱韌帶研究聯盟 (2018)

1. Guo J, Yao H, Chang L, Zhu W, Zhang Y, Li X, Yang B, Dai B, Chen X, Lei L, Chen Z, Li Y, Zheng L, Liu W, Tong W, Su Y, Qin L, Xu J. Magnesium nanocomposite hydrogel reverses the pathologies to enhance mandible regeneration. Advanced Materials. 2025;37(2):2312920. doi:10.1002/adma.202312920.
2. Zhu Y, Dai B, Zhang S, Liu J, Xu S, Liu W, Chen X, Zhang H, Li Q, Pang FOS, Li W, Wen C, Qin L, Xu J, Ngai T. Tissue mimetic membranes for healing augmentation of tendon–bone interface in rotator cuff repair. Advanced Materials. 2025;37(10):2407358. doi:10.1002/adma.202407358.
3. An Y, Zheng L, Zhang S, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Shao H, Tong W, Chen Z, Yao H, Wen Z, Xu S, Li Y, Tian Q, Cheng L, Sun W, Qin L, Xu J. Hydrogen activates ACOD1-itaconate pathway to ameliorate steroid-associated osteonecrosis. Biomaterials. 2025;323:123428. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2025.123428.
4. Jin Z, Chen J, Shan Z, Liu W, Wen Z, Shao H, Liang T, Chen Z, Ren X, Tan D, Qin L, Hu J, Xu J. Prevalence, risk factors, prediction of robust callus formation and accelerated fracture healing in traumatic brain injury patients: a five-year study. Journal of Orthopaedic Translation. 2025;53:151-160. doi:10.1016/j.jot.2025.05.011.
5. Li X, Liang T, Dai B, Chang L, Zhang Y, Hu S, Guo J, Xu S, Zheng L, Yao H, Lian H, Nie Y, Li Y, He X, Yao Z, Tong W, Wang X, Chow DHK, Xu J, Qin L. Excess glucocorticoids inhibit murine bone turnover via modulating the immunometabolism of the skeletal microenvironment. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2024;134(10). doi:10.1172/jci166795.
6. Chang L, Luo Y, Li W, Liu F, Guo J, Dai B, Tong W, Qin L, Wang J, Xu J. A comparative study on the effects of biodegradable high-purity magnesium screw and polymer screw for fixation in epiphyseal trabecular bone. Regenerative Biomaterials. 2024;11. doi:10.1093/rb/rbae095.
7. Zheng N, Xu J, Ruan YC, Chang L, Wang X, Yao H, Wang J, Zhang R, Xue Q, Tang N, Ong T yun, Schilcher J, O’Keefe RJ, Qin L. Magnesium facilitates the healing of atypical femoral fractures: a single-cell transcriptomic study. Materials Today. 2022;52:43-62. doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2021.11.028.
8. Zhao P, Guo J, Jiang T, Xu X, Chen S, Li Z, Xu J, Li G, Bian L. Vacuolated coacervate mediates the bimodal release kinetics of diverse macromolecular drugs in vivo. Materials Today. 2023;66:26-35. doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2023.03.029.
9. Xu J, Hu P, Zhang X, Chen J, Wang J, Zhang J, Chen Z, Yu MK, Chung YW, Wang Y, Zhang X, Zhang Y, Zheng N, Yao H, Yue J, Chan HC, Qin L, Ruan YC. Magnesium implantation or supplementation ameliorates bone disorder in CFTR -mutant mice through an ATF4-dependent Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Bioactive Materials. 2022;8:95-108. doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.06.034.
10. Zhang Y, Xu J, Ruan YC, Yu MK, O’Laughlin M, Wise H, Chen D, Tian L, Shi D, Wang J, Chen S, Feng JQ, Chow DHK, Xie X, Zheng L, Huang L, Huang S, Leung K, Lu N, Zhao L, Li H, Zhao D, Guo X, Chan K, Witte F, Chan HC, Zheng Y, Qin L. Implant-derived magnesium induces local neuronal production of CGRP to improve bone-fracture healing in rats. Nature Medicine. 2016;22(10):1160-1169. doi:10.1038/nm.4162.