Christopher J. Hernandez, PhD, is a professor in the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and UCSF Musculoskeletal Center. Dr. Hernandez holds appointments in the Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences. and the Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine, as well as serving as the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and Director of UCSF Health Innovations Via Engineering (HIVE) 

Dr. Hernandez’s laboratory investigates the effects of the microbiome on bone and joint disorders, periprosthetic joint infection, and the biomechanics and mechanobiology of infectious bacteria. A recent NSF award supports his efforts to build living materials, inspired by his research on bacteria and bone.

Dr. Hernandez is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). He is the 2018 recipient of the ASBMR Fuller Albright Award for Scientific Excellence and was recently awarded Educator of the Year by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers in 2021.  In 2022, Dr. Hernandez joined the faculty at UCSF by way of the East Coast, where he served as a Professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University and as an Adjunct Scientist at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

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