Guangju Zhai, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Research

Osteoarthritis Metabolomics Genomics Metabolic Markers Exposomics Microbiomics Sustained Knee Pain Total Joint Replacement

Latest papers

Distinct Gut Microbiomic and Metabolomic Signatures in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis.
The Journal of rheumatology · 2026 · senior author
Molecular endotypes in musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review.
BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026 · senior author
Altered gut microbiota and host pathways in obesity-related knee osteoarthritis.
Clinical and experimental rheumatology · 2026 · senior author

All 59 publications

Latest funding

The multi-omics study of sustained knee pain in osteoarthritis
CIHR · 2023 · Nominated PI
$799,425
Refining the molecular endotypes for precision medicine of osteoarthritis
CIHR · 2020 · Nominated PI
$971,550
The predictive values of novel metabolic markers for early knee osteoarthritis changes
CIHR · 2016 · Nominated PI
$791,775

All 8 grants and awards

59 publications.

01

Distinct Gut Microbiomic and Metabolomic Signatures in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis.

Huang J, Liu M, Zhang H, Sun G, Furey A, Rahman P, Zhai G

The Journal of rheumatology2026Senior author

DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.2025-1148 PMID: 42386282

02

Molecular endotypes in musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review.

Liu M, Huang J, Mobasheri A, Rahman P, Zhai G

BMC musculoskeletal disorders2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1186/s12891-026-10145-z PMID: 42393599

03

Altered gut microbiota and host pathways in obesity-related knee osteoarthritis.

Huang J, Liu M, Zhang H, Sun G, Furey A, Rahman P, Zhai G

Clinical and experimental rheumatology2026Senior author

DOI: 10.55563/clinexprheumatol/ksopba PMID: 41562358

04

Heterozygous Nonsense Mutation in the Nuclear Transport Factor KPNA7, a Maternal Factor Active in Embryonic Tissues, Causes Autosomal Dominant Otosclerosis.

Benteau T, Abdelfatah N, Griffin A, Penney C, Hu P, Stanton SG, Zhai G, Maheu M, French CR, Young TL

International journal of molecular sciences2026

DOI: 10.3390/ijms27114985 PMID: 42278511

05

Suggestive Association Between Tryptophan-indole Metabolic Pathway and Total Joint Arthroplasty Early Revision for Heterogeneous Failure Modes in Patients With Primary Osteoarthritis: A Meta-analysis of Metabolomics.

Liu M, Gill R, Gandhi R, Huang J, Furey A, Perruccio A, Rampersaud R, Mahomed NN, Rahman P, Kapoor M, Zhai G

Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews2026Senior author

DOI: 10.5435/jaaosglobal-d-25-00285 PMID: 41802117

06

An interpretable metabolomic-driven machine learning model for early prediction of knee structural OA progression.

Jamshidi A, Zhai G, Liu M, Zhang W, Jones G, Cicuttini FM, Pelletier JP, Martel-Pelletier J

Rheumatology (Oxford, England)2026

DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf686 PMID: 41431841

07

Postoperative joint pain is associated with long-term all-cause mortality after total joint arthroplasty.

Liu M, Furey A, Rahman P, Zhai G

PloS one2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327757 PMID: 40608839

08

Transcriptomic analysis of human cartilage identified potential therapeutic targets for hip osteoarthritis.

Huang J, Liu M, Furey A, Rahman P, Zhai G

Human molecular genetics2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddae200 PMID: 39777501

09

Gut Microbiomics of Sustained Knee Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis.

Huang J, Liu M, Furey A, Rahman P, Zhai G

The Journal of rheumatology2024Senior author

DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.2024-0361 PMID: 39218454

10

Genetics of osteoarthritis.

Zhai G, Huang J

Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology2024First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.berh.2024.101972 PMID: 38971692

The multi-omics study of sustained knee pain in osteoarthritis

Nominated PICIHR2023Project Grant

Principal investigators: Zhai, Guangju

Keywords: Exposomics; Genomics; Metabolomics; Microbiomics; Osteoarthritis; Sustained Knee Pain; Total Joint Replacement

$799,425

Refining the molecular endotypes for precision medicine of osteoarthritis

Nominated PICIHR2020Project Grant

Principal investigators: Zhai, Guangju

Keywords: Endotypes; Genomics; Metabolomics; Osteoarthritis

$971,550

The predictive values of novel metabolic markers for early knee osteoarthritis changes

Nominated PICIHR2016Project Grant

Principal investigators: Zhai, Guangju; Rahman, Proton

Keywords: Arginine; Eicosanoids; Lipid Metabolites; Metabolic Markers; Metabolic Regulation Of Inflammation; Metabolomics; Osteoarthritis; Prostanoids

$791,775

Workshop on Early Knee Osteoarthritis: Novel biomarkers, Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Clinical Cohorts for Early Detection and Intervention

Co-investigatorCIHR2016Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Kapoor, Mohit

Keywords: Biomarkers; Computational Biology; Drug Discovery; Epidemiology; Knee; Oa Clinical Cohort; Oa Diagnostics; Oa Therapeutic Targets; Osteoarthritis

$9,916

The link between osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus

Nominated PICIHR2015Operating Grant - PA: IMHA - New Invest.- Musculoskeletal Health Bridge Funding

Principal investigators: Zhai, Guangju; Randell, Edward W; Sun, Guang

Keywords: Advanced-Glycation End-Products; Diabetes Mellitus; Glucose Transporter 1; Metabolic Markers; Methylglyoxal; Osteoarthritis

$100,000

The genetic analysis of multiple traits of time-dependent effects in longitudinal studies

Co-investigatorCIHR2013Operating Grant

Principal investigators: Loredo-Osti, J.Concepcion

Keywords: Discrete Longitudinal Analysis; Joint Analysis Of Time-To Event And Longitudinal Traits; Longitudinal Multivariate Traits

$195,277

Identification of Novel Copy Number Variants using a Custom Genome Wide Microarray Chip for Diagnosis of Familial Spondyloarthritis

Co-investigatorCIHR2012Operating Grant - PA: Regional Partnership Program - Newfoundland and Labrador

Principal investigators: Rahman, Proton

Keywords: Ankylosing Spondylitis; Copy Number Variations; Missing Heritability; Psoriatic Arthritis; Structural Variations

$146,389

Identification and validation of novel metabolic biomarkers for osteoarthritis

Nominated PICIHR2012Operating Grant - PA: Regional Partnership Program - Newfoundland and Labrador

Principal investigators: Zhai, Guangju

Keywords: Biomarkers; Metabolomics; Osteoarthritis

$192,104

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Genetics
Medicine
Orthopedics
Biomedical Sciences
Surgery
Pharmacy
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology
Other

Co-authors at Memorial University of Newfoundland, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Bharati Bapat

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

2 shared papers, latest 2018

Pingzhao Hu

Biochemistry

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Konstantin Shestopaloff

Biostatistics Division

1 shared papers, latest 2018

Terry-Lynn Young

School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Arnaud Droit

Microbiologie et immunologie

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Proton Rahman

Immunology and Rheumatology

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Zhiwei Gao

Community Health

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Kensuke Hirasawa

Biomedical Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2016

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Osteoarthritis Dear Professor Zhai, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Distinct Gut Microbiomic and Metabolomic Signatures in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "The multi-omics study of sustained knee pain in osteoarthritis" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Guangju Zhai

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Distinct Gut Microbiomic and Metabolomic Signatures in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis.

Molecular endotypes in musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review.

Altered gut microbiota and host pathways in obesity-related knee osteoarthritis.

Heterozygous Nonsense Mutation in the Nuclear Transport Factor KPNA7, a Maternal Factor Active in Embryonic Tissues, Causes Autosomal Dominant Otosclerosis.

Suggestive Association Between Tryptophan-indole Metabolic Pathway and Total Joint Arthroplasty Early Revision for Heterogeneous Failure Modes in Patients With Primary Osteoarthritis: A Meta-analysis of Metabolomics.

An interpretable metabolomic-driven machine learning model for early prediction of knee structural OA progression.

Postoperative joint pain is associated with long-term all-cause mortality after total joint arthroplasty.

Transcriptomic analysis of human cartilage identified potential therapeutic targets for hip osteoarthritis.

Gut Microbiomics of Sustained Knee Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis.

Genetics of osteoarthritis.

Frequent collaborators

Proton Rahman

Guang Sun

Edward Randell

Glynn Martin

Johanne Martel-Pelletier

Dake Qi

Mohit Kapoor

Rajiv Gandhi

Bharati Bapat

Sevtap Savas

Pingzhao Hu

Konstantin Shestopaloff

Hassan Fahmi

Terry-Lynn Young

Arnaud Droit

Elin Grundberg

Proton Rahman

Anthony Perruccio

Zhiwei Gao

Patrick Parfrey

Kensuke Hirasawa