Biomechanics on our Minds

In this episode, we interview Professor Chris Haas, Associate Provost and Professor at the University of Florida. He talks about his research on the interplay between the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system, including Parkinson's, and the importance of keeping your research patient-centered. Then we talk with Candace Gaudiani who shares her story with Parkinson's and her incredible outlook on the disease and life. Finally, we talk with doctoral student Caitlyn Kirby who wore a skirt made of rejection letters to defend her dissertation!

PhD Students Nick Bianco and Chris Dembia give us the low down on OpenSim Moco! Moco solves optimal control problems with musculoskeletal models defined in OpenSim, using direct collocation. We learn how it works and new problems we can now solve with it. They also share their experience developing a software toolkit, including insights into what it is like to work on it as a team and how it has fit in the scope of their PhD.

In this episode, Andrew Vigotsky, Biomedical Engineering PhD candidate at Northwestern University takes us through some common mechanical misconceptions in bioengineering and how we can avoid them.

In this incredibly inspiring episode, two amazing athletes, Blake Leeper and Lasse Madsen talk about their stories - Blake is a world record holder in the Paralympics with a goal to compete in the 2020 Olympics and Lasse is a gymnast, athlete, author, and amputee. Watch Blake's video, Let Leeper Run here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4PTYR5GRA8 Check out Lasse's website here: https://www.landingonmyfeet.dk/

How do we make science journals accessible to everyone? In this episode, PhD student Ricky Pimentel and Roger Paxton, Research Project Manager at Children's Hospital Colorado, interview a pioneer of open access for science, Peter Suber. They talk about the beginning, current barriers, and the future of open access.

After a new Journal Jumble segment, we talk with Professor Alena Grabowski of University of Colorado Boulder on her biomechanics research with para-athletes and how we can use science to promote inclusivity in the Olympics. After, we talk with Roland Sigrist the Executive Director of the Organising Committee of the Cybathlon, an international championship for robot-assisted competitors with disabilities, and get an inside scoop on the 2020 Cybathlon.

On the first episode of Student Voices, we learn about what graduate school is all about. Grace Kellaher, a Master's student at University of Florida College of Health & Human Performance, interviews Stanford University Bioengineering PhD student Scott Uhlrich about the best ways to transition to graduate school, advice for navigating graduate school, and things he wished he knew as a beginning gradate student.

Drs. Kate Webster and Tim Hewett talk with BOOM about the important role biomechanics plays in keeping athletes healthy, particularly when it comes to ACL injuries.

In this episode with Julie Steele, we cover all things biomechanics and research - from studying biomechanics of surfing to how to fail fabulously to giving back to local communities.

In Episode 18, BOOM interviews Professors David Shiffman, Holly Bik, and Taija Finni on how to navigate scientific conferences. We talk about networking, fashion, cultivating collaborative atmospheres, recharging, and how to make the most of your experience! David Shiffman: 6:06 Holly Bik: 30:15 Taija Finni: 51:18

In this episode, we talk with May Liu of intuitive surgical. She shares why she loves tackling the difficult, "grey" problems and gives great advice on how to overcome some of the challenges of graduate school.

In this episode of BOOM, we talk with Professor Deanna Gates of the University of Michigan on rehabilitation biomechanics and her work on prostheses and orthotics. She shares her experiences as a biomechanics consultant and rehabilitation work for the military, as well as her motivation for becoming a biomechanist (hint: in a galaxy far, far away...).

In this Episode, we talk with Dr. Sam Hamner on the design process. We also learn about his experiences at a non-profit and his current role at a start-up, Cala Health.

In episode 14, we talk with Associate Professor Thor Besier of The University of Auckland about the Musculoskeletal Atlas Project and the future of wearables! Our Bit of Boom is brought to you by Biomechanics in the Wild (http://sites.nd.edu/biomechanics-in-the-wild/) and we end with our most recent research fails.

How do we stay resilient against unexpected outcomes of science research? On this episode, we talk with Professor Jen Heemstra and Dr. Meredith Henry from Emory University on having a mindset to grow from failure.

Joe Hamill, current International Society of Biomechanics President, talks about his vision for making ISB "truly international". Hear about why he values ISB as a top tier biomechanics society, including it's emphasis on the students.

This month we talk dinosaur biomechanics and the evolution of dinosaur biomechanics. We interview Professor John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College, Professor of Evolutionary Biomechanics. Learn how biomechanists and animators teamed together in the making of Jurassic Park to make sure T-Rex had realistic movements and speeds.

Dr. Deirdre McGhee shares her research on the biomechanics of breast health and her current study to improve the biomechanics of breast cancer survivors after surgery. It is followed with an interview with Dr. Jodi Steel who is a breast cancer survivor, part of Deirdre's study, and also working to improve the challenges that breast cancer survivors are facing.

In this special episode of BOOM, we talk with 3 graduate students on challenges that we face in graduate school and how it affects our mental health.

In this episode, we dive in to titin's role in muscle contraction, followed by an interview with University of Calgary's Professor Walter Herzog who talks about the role of nutrition in osteoarthritis development, who he looked up to as a student in biomechanics, and more. Followed with research fails!

We chat with Professor Jacque Cole on her research on the osteovascular system and its importance to our health. She also talks about what it has been like starting a research lab as a new professor.

In this episode we discuss recent findings in running shoe advantages using statistics and large scale running data. We interview Professor Reuben Govender and Professor Emeritus Gerald Nurick from the University of Cape Town Blast Impact and Survivability Research Unit. Learn the importance of adapting your research to local needs and about current research on blast impacts.

An interview with Professor Steve Collins features the latest research in the field of biomechatronics, with a focus on the design of exoskeletons and their integration into the real world and the future of robotics with biological applications.

In this episode, we speak with Professor Emeritus Mary Rodgers on how to create meaningful mentorships and continue to foster them over time. Also learn about the oldest known prosthesis and tips for conducting an informational interview.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Jill McNitt-Gray on her research on neuromuscular control and dynamics of human movements, including with Olympians. She also discusses the power of collaboration across Universities and disciplines as she begins to tackle a multi-institute biomechanics collaboration.

On this episode, we speak with Felipe Carpes, professor at Universidade Federal do Pampa in Brazil, on biomechanics in economically developing countries and hear from a student who participated in research in another country. As usually, we include a bit of biomechanics and some research fails.

Episode 2 of Biomechanics on our Minds features an interview with Scott Delp of Stanford University on Open Science and Women in Engineering. We also start our first segment of research fails!

This is the first episode of BOOM (Biomechanics on our Minds). This episode features an interview with Brian Davis on biomechanics "off the beaten path" and an interview with Paul DeVita, the founder of National Biomechanics Day.