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People
Dr. Mary Bouxsein
Faculty
Post Doctoral
Graduate
Research Assistants
Alumni
Principal Investigator
Mary L Bouxsein, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Associate Biologist, Endocrine Division, Massachusetts General Hospital
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University
Faculty Member, Bioastronautics Program, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
330 Brookline Ave, RN 115
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: 617-667-2940, fax: 617-667-7175
Email:
Dr. Bouxsein received her BS degree in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, studying the effects of exercise on the skeleton with Dennis Carter, PhD and Robert Marcus, MD. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of Wilson C. Hayes, PhD. She currently holds joint appointments as an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, adjunct Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University, and is also a faculty member in the MIT-Bioastronautics Program. Her research focuses on understanding skeletal fragility from a biomechanics viewpoint, and includes studies using animal models and human cadaveric tissue, as well as clinical investigations. She also has a strong interest in the use of novel non-invasive imaging techniques to predict fracture risk and monitor response to osteoporosis therapies. Dr. Bouxsein serves on the committee of scientific advisors for the International Osteoporosis Foundation and is a board member of the International Bone and Mineral Society. Dr. Bouxsein has published over 145 peer-reviewed articles and 25 book chapters and invited reviews.
See Dr. Bouxsein's CV.
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Faculty
Maureen J. Devlin, PhD
Instructor in Orthopedic Surgery
330 Brookline Ave., RN 118, Boston, MA 02215
617-667-2973
Email:
The goal of Maureen's research is to understand how environmental factors, such as diet, exercise, and climate, interact with physiological mediators, including hormones and growth factors, to affect bone mass and fat mass. She is currently testing the effects of maternal and postnatal diet on offspring skeletal acquisition [Link]. In her PhD research with Dan Lieberman at Harvard University, she tested how the hormone estrogen affects exercise-induced bone growth, in order to understand patterns of skeletal robusticity in human evolution.
See Dr. Devlin's CV.
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Postdoctoral Fellows
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Dennis E. Anderson, PhD
Research Fellow
330 Brookline Avenue, RN 115
Boston, MA 02215
Email:
Dennis joined the lab in 2010 after receiving his PhD in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech. His research interests are centered in musculoskeletal biomechanics, with general interests in human movement, quantifying musculoskeletal loading, and age-related changes in the musculoskeletal system, both normal and pathological. He has used both experiments with human subjects and computational modeling in his research, and views these as complementary parts of biomechanics research. Currently, Dennis is working in the Biomechanics of Vertebral Fracture project, which is using qCT scans and musculoskeletal modeling to examine vertebral loading and the risk of vertebral fractures in older adults. In a related project, he is investigating age-related changes in muscle composition and how these changes affect muscle strength and endurance. Such changes may affect postural stability and vertebral loading, contributing to the risk of vertebral fractures.
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Lamya Karim, PhD
Research Fellow
330 Brookline Avenue, RN 122
Boston, MA 02215
Email:
Lamya joined the lab in 2012 after receiving her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she studied the contribution of matrix proteins on bone fracture with Deepak Vashishth, PhD. Her research interest is primarily in skeletal biomechanics, but she has integrated biochemistry into her work to complement the mechanics aspect of her research. Currently, Lamya is continuing to study bone quality, but is expanding into clinical studies by investigating atypical fractures in patients treated with long-term bisphosphonates.
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Graduate Students
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Alexander Bruno
Ph.D. Candidate - Medical Engineering and Medical Physics
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Bioastronautics Training Program
617-667-8534
Email:
Alex's interests include musculoskeletal health, osteoporosis, fracture biomechanics, posture and balance, and ageing. He is currently investigating the biomechanical determinants of vertebral fractures in the elderly, with a special emphasis on understanding how differences in spinal curvature and sagittal balance alter the mechanical loading of the spine. His work involves the development and use of subject-specific musculoskeletal models based on high-resolution imaging data [link]. Alex is also interested in human space flight and the various biomedical and musculoskeletal issues encountered by astronauts.
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Rachel Ellman
Ph.D. Candidate - Medical Engineering and Medical Physics
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Bioastronautics Training Program
Email:
Rachel is a graduate student in the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology pursuing a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering Medical Physics. Aligned with her combined interests in space, medicine, and engineering, she is enrolled in the Bioastronautics Training Program within MEMP. Her research is on the effect of mechanical underloading on bone. She graduated from MIT in 2003 with a B.S. in Aeronautics & Astronautics and minor in Biomedical Engineering. In her free time she likes traveling, puzzles, stargazing, cycling, and flying.
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Ben Roberts
M.S. Candidate – Mechanical Engineering
Boston University
Email:
Ben is a Master's Student at BU pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He received his Bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2006, and has been with the lab for almost three years. Professionally, he is interested in the medical device field, and works as an independent contractor doing design work for investigational devices. He is an avid rock climber and can often be found climbing at local rock gyms in Boston.
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Jordan Spatz
Ph.D. Candidate - Medical Engineering and Medical Physics
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Bioastronautics Training Program
Email:
Jordan received his undergraduate and master's degrees in aerospace engineering sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder (GO Buffs!). He is currently a PhD candidate in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences (HST) Bioastronautics, with an interest to improve understanding of bone’s response to mechanical unloading. In particular, his research focus is to determine the role of osteocytes in disuse, immobilization, and microgravity induced bone loss. Outside of lab, he enjoys snowboarding and biking.
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Research Assistants
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Brett Allaire
Email:
Brett Allaire graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University in 2009. As an undergrad, Brett did work in the BU Biomicroscopy Lab. He joined the Bouxsein lab in March 2011 and is part of the Biomechanics of Vertebral Fracture team performing image analysis of QCT scans. His research interests include imaging techniques, image processing, and biomechanics
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Chrissy Conlon
Email:
Chrissy Conlon graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2010 with a BA in Biological Sciences. After graduating, she worked as a research student in virology on an ARRA grant. She has been in the Bouxsein lab group since 2010. Her research interests include immunology, virology, HIV/AIDS, and the of study bone markers.
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Leeann Louis
Email:
Leeann Louis received her B.S. in Biological & Environmental Engineering from Cornell University in 2009. Her previous research focused on the relationship between form and function in the musculoskeletal system of birds. Specifically, she studied how Manakins – a group of Neotropical birds – are able to produce buzzing and snapping noises using parts of their bodies such as their wings, tails and legs. She has used a wide variety of tools in order to perform her research, including computed tomography scanning, finite element analysis, high speed video and motion tracking. She started working in the Bouxsein Lab in August 2010, and her main role is to manage the microCT systems and perform CT acquisition and analysis for the lab as well as for outside investigators. She also contributes heavily to the perinatal diet project, specifically in managing the breeding colony.
See Leann Louis's CV.
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Miranda Van Vliet
Email:
Miranda Van Vliet graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Northeastern University in 2011. While there, she completed two Coops: the first at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, studying the role of Vitamin K in human health, and the second as a Water Quality Intern at the Cambridge Water Department. As part of the Bouxsein lab, she is currently working on perinatal developmental programming and the musculoskeletal adaptations to partial weight bearing.
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Alumni
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Postdoctoral Fellows:
Patrick Nicholson, PhD (1997-99)
Danielle Abrahamson (2005-05)
Eyal Rosen, DDS (2005-07)
Blaine Christiansen, PhD (2008-2010, currently at UC Davis)
Yoo Mee Kim, MD, PhD (2010-2011, currently in Seoul, Korea)
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Undergraduate Students:
Talya Toledano (Harvard University,1992-93)
Brian Coan (MIT, 1995-96)
Kendrick Boardman (MIT, 1995-96)
Kristy Salisbury (Boston University, 1999-00)
Parikha Solanki (Boston University, 2001-02)
Kelly Myers (Boston University, 2002-03)
Jody McClean (Boston University, 2002-03)
Jessica Swenson (Boston University, 2003-04)
Laura Little (Boston College, 2005-06)
Batya Feldman (MIT, 2006)
Neil Patel (Boston University, 2006-07)
Christina Piron (Boston University, 2006-07)
Andy Mach (Boston University, 2006-07)
Michal Ruchelsman (MIT, 2006-07)
Rahel Eisenberg (MIT, 2007-09)
Sneh Shah (Boston University, 2007-10)
Nishina Thomas (Boston University, 2008-09)
Advhait Shah (Tufts University, 2010)
Sarah Sprague (MIT, 2010) |
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Graduate Students:
Sean Serell (Boston University)
Stefan Radloff, MS (MIT, 1995-96)
Soon Lee, MD (Tufts University Medical Center)
Erika Wagner, PhD (Harvard-MIT HST Program)
Deborah Sternlight, MD (Harvard Medical School)
Erica Thrall, MS (Boston University)
Sravisht Iyer, MD (Harvard-MIT HST Program)
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Visiting Fellows:
Monique Muller (Canada)
J.D. Johnston (Canada)
Julienne Brouwers (Netherlands)
Marjtin de Kooter (Netherlands)
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Research Assistants:
Allison Cloutier (Currently at MIT)
John D'Agostino (Currently at Northeastern University)
Vaida Glatt
Rajaram Manoharan
David Panus
Michael Valentine
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