Dr. Long earned his doctorate in developmental biology from Tufts University, and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard University. He received a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a bachelor’s degree in cell biology from Peking University. Dr. Long began his independent research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and served there as Professor of Medicine, Developmental Biology and Orthopedic Surgery until 2018 when he was appointed William Wikoff Smith Endowed Chair in Pediatric Genomic Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He currently also serves as Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Long served as program co-chair for American Society of Bone and Mineral Diseases, and chair for Gordon Conference on Bones and Teeth. He currently serves as consulting editor for Journal of Clinical Investigation and associate editor for PLoS Genetics.
In his research, Dr. Long seeks to understand the fundamental mechanisms underlying normal skeletal biology and the pathophysiology of bone diseases. His group has made major contributions to the understanding of Hh, Wnt and Notch signaling in skeletal development and homeostasis. They also pioneered the studies of osteogenic signals in regulating cellular metabolism.