Meet trainees part of the NIH T32 Musculoskeletal Research training program offered by the National Institutes of Health to students in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.
Anna Jussila
“I would like to continue working in biomedical research, either in an academic or industry setting.”
About
Undergraduate Major: Bachelors in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology - Whitman College
Current: PhD in Biology - Case Western Reserve University (in progress)
Current role: Post-doctoral Researcher at Stanford University
Current mentor: Dr. Radhika Atit
Start date on T32: May 2020
End date: December 2021
Project
Mechanisms and consequences of fat loss in skin fibrosis
Publications and Presentations
- Abstract from a recent talk: Jussila, A. R. et al. 439 Mechanism for loss of intradermal fat accompanying skin fibrosis. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 139, S76 (2019).
Awards
- Second place - oral presentation, 2020 Biomedical Graduate Student Symposium
Sandra Hnat
“My current career goals are to learn how to lead my own research study, manage funds and research associates, and establish foundational research to allow me to apply for a career-development grant.”
About
Undergraduate major: Mechanical Engineering, Cleveland State University
Graduate major: Doctor of Engineering, Cleveland State University
Current mentor & research advisors: Ronald Triolo (mentor), Musa Audu (advisor), Roger Quinn (advisor)
Start date on T32: April 1, 2020
Project
Investigating Fall Mitigation and Recovery Strategies when Walking with an Exoskeleton for Users with Spinal Cord Injuries
The overall aim of this project is to improve the safety of powered exoskeletons for users who have an SCI by designing and evaluating new methods to prevent, detect, and recover from a fall while minimizing injury to the user.
Publications and Presentations
- Sandra K. Hnat, Musa L. Audu, Ronald J. Triolo (2020) Estimating Center of Mass Kinematics during Perturbed Standing using Accelerometers, Poster Presentation, Dynamic Walking Virtual Conference.
Tyler Johnson
“Better understand the brain and how it communicates commands to and from the body. Be able to interface with these signals to improve medical conditions.”
About
Undergraduate Major: Mechanical Engineering - University of Akron
Graduate Major(s): Bioengineering - University of Illinois Chicago
Current: Biomedical Engineering - Case Western Reserve University
Current role: Pre-doctoral Research Assistant at Case Western Reserve University
Current Mentor: Dr. Dawn Taylor
Committee Members: Dr. Robert Kirsch, Dr. Bolu Ajiboye
Start date on T32: January 1, 2020
End date: March 2022
Project
Decoding Neural Signals for Motor Control
Closed loop neural decoding for control of a virtual functional electrical stimulation system for upper limb reaching
Publications and Presentations
- 2/25/20 - Cleveland Clinic Neurosciences Dept. Seminar: Optimizing Muscle Co Contraction for Reaching with Functional Electrical Stimulation
- 5/22/20 - Neural Engineering Center presentation: Optimizing Muscle Co Contraction for Reaching with Functional Electrical Stimulation
- 8/4/20 - BrainGate Summit Seminar: Review of Research
(no papers since start of T32 - few in progress)
Dylan Crocker
“My career goal is to become an orthopaedic surgeon and run a research lab at a university which will focus on developing novel surgical approaches and techniques to improve patient outcomes”
About
Undergraduate Major: BS in Mechanical Engineering - Cleveland State University (2018)
Graduate Major(s): MS in Mechanical Engineering - Duke University (2019)
Current: PhD in Mechanical Engineering - Case Western Reserve University (in progress)
Research Advisor and Project Supervisor: Dr. Clare Rimnac
Start date on T32: April 1, 2020
Project
Can the Fatigue Life of Allograft Cortical Bone Be Enhanced with Sterilization Radiation Dose Fractionation?
Our goal is to identify the compositional compromises of the collagen matrix that occurs in structural bone allografts when they are sterilized with gamma radiation, and implement a sequential dose-fractionation delivery of radiation to achieve proper sterility of the allograft and maintain its high-cycle fatigue performance
"Development of a Catheter Stabilization Device for Stent Placement Aid" (This is my MS thesis that is not yet published because of a 1-year embargo I placed on it. Will be published in December). This was supposed to be presented as a poster at Translational Science 2020 but the conference got canceled due to COVID-19.
Phillip McClellan
“I plan to pursue a career in teaching after I finish my postdoctoral work, and my experiences working as a laboratory teaching assistant, conducting directed research project in an organic chemistry laboratory, and training undergraduates for research during my time at CWRU led directly to my current interests in combining research with undergraduate education.”
About
Undergraduate major: Biochemistry - Kennesaw State University
Graduate major: Polymer Science - The University of Akron
Current role: Post-doctoral Researcher at Case Western Reserve University
Current mentor & research advisors: Ozan Akkus
Start date on T32: January 1, 2020
End date: January 2022
Project
Biofabrication of Mechanically-Competent Scaffolds for Articular Cartilage Regeneration
The project focuses on articular cartilage tissue regeneration using micropellet cultures that maintain and induce chondrogenic potential of cells from native cartilage tissue which are then combined with an enzyme-crosslinked gelatin incorporated into a larger scaffold to match the shape and contours of the joint surface.
Publications and Presentations
- McClellan, P.E., Kesavan, L., Ina, J., Knapik, D.M., Gillespie, R.J., Akkus, O. Fatty Infiltration Quantification Using Volumetric Intensity Histogram Analysis Following Rotator Cuff Repair. 1st SECEC Virtual Congress, September-December 2020.
- John, A.R., Raju, S., Cadnum, J.L., Lee, K., McClellan, P., Akkus, O., Miller, S.K., Jennings, W., Buehler, J.A., Li, D.F., Redmond, S.N., Braskie, M., Hoyen, C.K., Donskey, C.J., 2020. Scalable In-hospital Decontamination of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator with a Peracetic Acid Room Disinfection System. medRxiv 2020.04.24.20073973. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.24.20073973
- McClellan, P.E., Kesavan, L., Wen, Y., Ina, J., Knapik, D.M., Gillespie, R.J., Akkus, O. Volumetric Micro-CT Intensity Histograms of Fatty Infiltration Correlate with Healing Strength of the Rotator Cuff: An Ex Vivo Rabbit Model. CORR (In Review)
Kristen Gelenitis
“I hope to continue contributing to the physical rehabilitation field as a clinical research scientist focused on human athletic performance and recovery.”
About
Undergraduate Major: Biomedical Engineering - Bucknell University
Graduate Major(s): Biomedical Engineering - Case Western Reserve University
Current role: Rehabilitation Research Scientist in the Department of Veterans Affairs
Current Mentor: Dr. Ron Triolo
Start date on T32: January 2020
End date: July 2021
Project
Prolonging stimulation-induced standing and exercise after lower extremity paralysis
This project aims to increase work performed by paralyzed muscles within stimulation-induced standing or exercise sessions, which are typically limited by rapid fatigue, through selective neural stimulation methods that modulate activated fiber overlap, duty cycle, and effort level.
Publications and Presentations
- Gelenitis, K.,Sanner, B., Triolo, R.J. and Tyler, D.J. (2020). "Selective nerve cuff stimulation strategies for prolonging muscle output," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 67(5): 1397-1408
- Gelenitis, K., Freeberg, M. & Triolo, R.J. (2020). "Sum of phase-shifted sinusoids stimulation prolongs paralyzed muscle output," Journal of NeuroEngineering Rehabilitation, 17(9): 1-7
Brendan Eck
“My goal is to obtain a research faculty position and develop a research program focused on developing quantitative imaging technologies for characterizing and assessing musculoskeletal disease with a particular focus on clinical translation.”
About
Undergraduate Major: Bachelor of Science, Physics and Mathematics Dual Degree - Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio
Graduate Major(s): PhD in Biomedical Engineering - Case Western Reserve University
Mentor and Research Advisor: Xiaojuan Li, PhD, Staff in Biomedical Engineering at the Cleveland Clinic;
Mentor: Wilson Tang, MD, Staff in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences as well as in Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic
Start date on T32: August 1, 2020
Project
Characterization of Sarcopenia in Heart Failure by T1rho Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting
This project is developing a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging technique for simultaneous measurement of multiple tissue properties (T1, T2, and T1rho relaxation) which may be used as biomarkers of sarcopenia, or muscle wasting, in patients with heart failure.
Publications and Presentations
Presentations
- Brendan L. Eck, Richard Lartey, Dongxing Xie, Jeehun Kim, Carl S Winalski, Bruce M Damon, Xiaodong Zhong, Kecheng Liu, Faysal Altahawi, Morgan H Jones, Kurt P Spindler, Xiaojuan Li, "Dixon MRI for Quantitative Assessment of Thigh Muscle Fatty Infiltration in Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis 10-years after ACL Reconstruction Shows Elevated Hamstrings Fat Fraction after Graft Harvest", Orthopaedic Research Society 2021 Annual Meeting, February 2021.
- Brendan Eck, Jeehun Kim, Mingrui Yang, Xiaojuan Li, "Quantification of T1ρ using magnetic resonance fingerprinting", ISMRM 2020 Virtual Conference and Exhibition, August 2020.
- Brendan Eck, Jeehun Kim, Mingrui Yang, Xiaojuan Li, "Quantification of T1ρ using magnetic resonance fingerprinting", ISMRM 2020 Virtual Conference and Exhibition, August 2020.
- Mingdong Fan, Brendan Eck, Nicole Seiberlich, Michael Martens, Robert Brown, "End-to-End Deep Learning Reconstruction for Ultra-Short MRF", ISMRM 2020 Virtual Conference and Exhibition, August 2020.
- Yingnan Song, Brendan L Eck, Jacob Levi, David L Wilson, "Improved accuracy and precision of calcium mass score using deconvolution and partial volume correction", Medical Imaging 2020: Biomedical Applications in Molecular, Structural, and Functional Imaging, February 2020.
- Hao Wu, Brendan L Eck, Jacob Levi, Anas Fares, Hiram G Bezerra, David L Wilson, "Quantitative estimation of flow rate to fill the intravascular volume (FRIV) for CT myocardial perfusion imaging", Medical Imaging 2020: Biomedical Applications in Molecular, Structural, and Functional Imaging, February 2020.
Journal Articles
- Brendan L Eck, Scott D Flamm, Deborah H Kwon, WH Wilson Tang, Claudia Prieto Vasquez, Nicole Seiberlich, "Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting: Trends in Technical Development and Potential Clinical Applications", Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, November 2020.
- Ursula Heilmeier, Kenji Mamoto Mamoto, Keiko Amano, Brendan Eck, Matthew Tanaka, Jennifer A Bullen, Benedikt J Schwaiger, Janet L Huebner, Thomas V Stabler, Virginia B Kraus, Benjamin Ma, Thomas M Link, Xiaojuan Li , "Infrapatellar fat pad abnormalities are associated with a higher inflammatory synovial fluid cytokine profile in young adults following ACL tear", Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, January 2020.
- Yuchi Liu, Jesse Hamilton, Brendan Eck, Mark Griswold, Nicole Seiberlich, "Myocardial T1 and T2 quantification and water–fat separation using cardiac MR fingerprinting with rosette trajectories at 3T and 1.5T", Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, July 2020.
- Jesse I Hamilton, Yun Jiang, Brendan Eck, Mark Griswold, Nicole Seiberlich, "Cardiac cine magnetic resonance fingerprinting for combined ejection fraction, T1 and T2 quantification", NMR in Biomedicine, June 2020.
- Nils Große Hokamp, Brendan Eck, Florian Siedek, Daniel Pinto dos Santos, Jasmin A Holz, David Maintz, Stefan Haneder, "Quantification of metal artifacts in computed tomography: methodological considerations", Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery, May 2020.
- Mohamad Amer Alaiti, Guilherme F Attizzani, Anas Fares, Brendan Eck, Steven Van Hedent, Sandeep Patel, Armando Ugo Cavallo, Rachid Fahmi, Jacob Levi, Yasuhiro Ichibori, Leslie Ciacinbello, Ahmed T Chami, Alan Markowitz, Chung-Lieh Hung, Chun-Ho Yun, Robert Gilkeson, David L Wilson, Sanjay Rajagopalan, Hiram G Bezerra, "Contrast-Sparing Imaging Utilizing Spectral Detector CT for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Procedure Planning", Structural Heart, April 2020.
- Steven Van Hedent, Curtis Tatsuoka, Sarah Carr, Kai Roman Laukamp, Brendan Eck, Nils Große Hokamp, Rivka Kessner, Pablo Ros, David Jordan, "Impact of patient size and radiation dose on accuracy and precision of iodine quantification and virtual noncontrast values in dual-layer detector CT—a phantom study", Academic Radiology, March 2020.
- Brendan L Eck, Raymond F Muzic Jr, Jacob Levi, Hao Wu, Rachid Fahmi, Yuemeng Li, Anas Fares, Mani Vembar, Amar Dhanantwari, Hiram G Bezerra, David L Wilson, "The role of acquisition and quantification methods in myocardial blood flow estimability for myocardial perfusion imaging CT", Physics in Medicine and Biology, September 2018.
Holly Dudley
“After finishing at Case, I am anticipating finding a postdoctoral position to get further experience in immunology. I am particularly interested in exploring host response to viral infections.”
About
Undergraduate Major: Bachelors in Biological Sciences - Webster University
Current: PhD in Molecular Biology and Microbiology - Case Western Reserve University
Current Mentor: Donald Anthony
Start date on T32: April 2021
Project
Characterization of Viral and Vaccine Neoantigen Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Publications and Presentations
Recent Abstract citation:
- Holly M. Dudley, Megan O’Mara, Ann Auma, Jenny Gong, Yael Ross, Natalie Gurevich, Nora Singer, Lenche Kostadinova, Brigid Wilson, David A. Zidar, Christopher King, David H. Canaday, Carey L. Shive, Maya M. Mattar, Donald D. Anthony "Rheumatoid Arthritis patients respond to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines with lower antibody titers and IFN-g responses" Keystone Symposia (submitted)
Rebecca Ahn
“My career goal is to have a positive impact on society by working in the medical industry. I want to become a leader in the conception and development of innovative medical procedures and devices that save lives.”
About
Undergraduate Major: Chemical Engineering - Virginia Tech
Graduate Major(s): Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering - Case Western Reserve University
Current Mentor: Julie Renner
Start date on T32: April 2022
Project
The “Potential” for Large-Scale Mesenchymal Stem Cell Expansion via Voltage-driven Technologies
Aim 1: Design and test new surface technology by characterizing the ability to render a fibroblast growth factor-2 mimicking peptide15 accessible or non-accessible using shielding polyproline molecules.
Aim 2: Build a modular platform to examine the effect of electric field-driven cue presentation on hMSC proliferation and differentiation via a high-throughput electrochemical cell culture system.
William Zaylor
“My long term career goal is to be an independent researcher where I would investigate the influence that mechanical loading has on joint health and soft tissue healing and remodeling."
About
Undergraduate Major: Mechanical Engineering - Ohio University
Graduate Major(s): Mechanical Engineering - Ohio University;
PhD in Mechanical Engineering - Cleveland State University
Current Mentor: Dr. Jillian Beveridge
Research Advisor: Dr. Xiaojuan Li
Start date on T32: April 2022
Project
Computational Assessment of ACL Function and Quantitative MR Imaging
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the relation between ACL function and MR imaging measures. Findings from this work could potentially be used to noninvasively define ACL graft maturity.
Publications and Presentations
- Jason P. Halloran, Neda Abdollahi Nohouji, Mhd A. Hafez, Thor F. Besier, Snehal K. Chokhandre, Shady Elmasry, Donald R. Hume, Carl W. Imhauser, Nynke B. Rooks, Marco T. Y. Schneider, Ariel Schwartz, Kevin B. Shelburne, William Zaylor, and Ahmet Erdemir. “Assessment of reporting practices and reproducibility potential of a cohort of published studies in computational knee biomechanics”. In: Journal of Orthopaedic Research: Official Publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society (May 3, 2022).
- William Zaylor, Kayla M. Malby, Nicole A. Byram, Sercan Yalcin, Kurt P. Spindler, Xiaojuan Li, and Jillian E. Beveridge. “Intra-Articular Drilling Elicits Elevation in Cartilage T2 relaxation Time”. In: Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting. Tampa FL, Feb. 4, 2022.
- Nynke B. Rooks, Marco T. Y. Schneider, Ahmet Erdemir, Jason P. Halloran, Peter J. Laz, Kevin B. Shelburne, Donald R. Hume, Carl W. Imhauser, William Zaylor, Shady Elmasry, Ariel Schwartz, Snehal K. Chokhandre, Neda Abdollahi Nohouji, and Thor F. Besier. “Deciphering the “Art” in Modeling and Simulation of the Knee Joint: Variations in Model Development”. In: Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 6 (June 1, 2021).
- William Zaylor, Snehal Chokhandre, Ellen M. Klonowski, Kayla Malby, Ahmet Erdemir, and Jillian E. Beveridge. “Sensitivity of ACL Force and Stress to Kinematic Error”. In: Midwest American Society of Biomechanics Conference. Cleveland, OH, Sept. 16, 2021.
- William Zaylor and Jason P. Halloran. “WraptMor: Confirmation of an Approach to Estimate Ligament Fiber Length and Reactions With Knee-Specific Morphology”. In: Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 81012 (May 6, 2021).