BIOMS Faculty

• Human cardiac tissue engineering
• Cell and developmental biology of the mammalian heart
• Advanced electrophoretic techniques for analysis of the proteome
• Interactions between nerve and muscle in children with cerebral palsy

• Adaptive capacity of the human musculoskeletal system during movement tasks
• Interaction between the musculoskeletal system and prosthetic and orthotic devices
• Optimization of the design and prescription of prosthetic and orthotic devices

• Biomechanical Systems Analyzation
• Equine Biomechanics
• Dynamics of Functional Human Anatomy

Focuses on signal and image processing as well as human-computer interaction. The processing of signals is fundamental to applications in a broad array of disciplines, from biology and medicine, to communications and imaging. Traditional signal processing methods employ linear techniques. However, real-world systems and signals often exhibit nonlinearities. Moreover, linear methods break down in the presence of harsh environments, such as those characterized by impulsive, or heavy tailed distributions. Thus current work focuses on developing, analyzing, and employing nonlinear signal processing methods that are robust to harsh environments and are able to exploit system nonlinearities. Traditional signal processing methods also rely on Nyquist approaches to sampling and processing signals. This approach breaks down, or is inefficient, in real world cases, particularly those with multispectral components. Moreover, traditional approaches fail to exploit the sparsity inherent in many problems. Thus current work also leads and capitalizes on the growing body of sparsity-based approaches to sampling, processing, and detecting signals of interest. Sparsity and nonlinearity have been exploited in multiple theoretical and application focused projects, including the processing of biomedical signals, such as EEG and ECG signals and tomographic images for compression, feature extraction, and enhancement. Imaging, including stereo imaging, has been utilized for facial recognition, gait recognition, and human computer interface strategies, including those on mobile platforms.

• National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development
  RO3 Award
• National Institutes of Mental Health
  R33 Award
• Autism Speaks
  Pilot Treatment Award
• UConn Foundation
  UConn Large Grant

Interested in the effects of electrical stimulation parameters on muscle performance and he works with both human and animal research models

• Biomedical Engineering
  Engineering: musculoskeletal modeling, neural control of movement, patient-specific modeling using MRI and ultrasound, muscle mechanics. Medicine: orthopaedics, radiology, neurology, rehabilitation.
• Biomechanics
  Mechanical models of how muscles generate forces and how such forces affect loads in cartilage and ligaments; applications to osteoarthritis, stroke and sports medicine.
• Life & Health Sciences
  Director of the Delaware Rehabilitation Institute (www.udel.edu/dri), which brings together faculty across campus to study physical rehabilitation.

• Broad based multidisciplinary concussion research program which primarily focuses on:
  • Concussion: 1) Impairments in postural control/balance following a concussion, 2) Determination of post-concussion recovery, 3) The relationship between post-concussion return to participation and associated sequel, and 4) Athletic Trainers concussion management practice patterns.
  • Postural Control/Balance: Primary interest here involves the role of Dual Task cognitive challenges on performance of balance testing.

• Brain imaging and motor behavior in healthy aging and movement disorders.
  – Risk of Parkinson’s disease

  – Motor phenotyping in Parkinson’s disease

  – Cerebellar disorders

  – Neuroimaging and rehabilitation

• Biomedical Engineering
  Soft tissue tribology including cartilage, meniscus, hydrogels; lubrication and load support mechanisms; Osteoarthritis; tissue wear and degeneration, biomaterials engineering and joint replacement
• Clean Energy
  Wind turbine design, tribology, and reliability; energy conservation via design and synthesis of novel low friction tribomaterials
• Composite Materials
  Design and synthesis of tribological composite materials, functionally graded materials, hierarchically structured materials, multifunctional materials (strength, lubricity, dissipation of frictional power)
• Nanotechnology
  Low friction, low wear polymer nanocomposites for tribological applications; design; synthesis; characterization of dispersion, mechanical properties, crystallinity, crystalline morphology, interphase, tribology
• Aerospace Engineering
  Tribo-materials to lubricate moving mechanical assemblies in extreme air and space environments.
• Biomechanics
  Cartilage load support and lubrication, relating tissue structure and function, relating deterioration of tissue structure and function, and understanding role in Osteoarthritis.
• Design Science
  Precision instrument design
• Materials Engineering
  Solid lubricant engineering; polymers science, composites, and nanocomposites; metal matrix composites, nanocomposite tribological coatings, diamond-like carbon, Polytetrafluoroethylene, Molybdenum disulfide and composites
• Solid Mechanics
  Contact and interface mechanics, failure of materials
• Energy
  Wind turbine design, tribology, and reliability; energy conservation via design and synthesis of novel low friction tribomaterials
• Life & Health Sciences
  Osteoarthritis (OA); functional consequences of tissue wear and degeneration, early stage OA and treatment, biomaterials engineering and joint replacement

• The long-term goal of my research is to extend the health span of patient populations through interventions to reduce the incidence of falls, lessen the severity of fall injury, and enable physical activity.
  • My studies often employ biomechanical analyses of gait and fall recoveries.
  • My research is applicable to many ambulatory patient populations, including older adults, individuals with lower-extremity amputations, and individuals with chronic stroke.

The development of skeletal architecture and the maintenance of bone mass is dependent on the mechanical stresses and strains encountered throughout our lifetime. Removal of these physical forces during paralysis, microgravity encountered in spaceflight, and even extended bed rest, results in a rapid loss of bone with up to 2% of total body calcium lost per month. Conversely, increased activity and exercise has been shown to reduce the rate of bone loss in osteoporotic patients and application of exogenous mechanical loads can result in increased bone formation in a modeling skeleton. The focus of the research in my lab is to understand how mechanical signals are perceived by bone cells and converted into biochemical responses within the cell to promote bone formation.

One of the earliest responses of the osteoblast, or bone-forming cell, to a mechanical stimulus is an increase in intracellular calcium that occurs within seconds of stimulation. The primary focus of the research in my lab is to define the role of ion channels in this mechanically-induced increase in intracellular calcium and how the changes in channel activity influence the function of the cell. We also seek to determine how the cell can control the kinetics of these channels. Finally, we are using genetic manipulation to determine how mutation, overexpression and knockout of various components of the proposed mechanotransduction pathway alter the response of the skeleton to mechanical loading.

Focuses on motor behaviors of infants, especially how neural, biomechanical, behavioral and environmental influences interaction as infants learn to coordinate their early head, arm and leg behaviors for later skills such as reaching, sitting and walking.

• Development of neuromotor coordination and control in children with autism, learning disabilities, and developmental coordination disorder
• The relationship among motor proficiency, physical activity, and health related fitness in pre-school aged children

Interventions for low back pain, rehabilitation strategies focused on trunk muscle function, and understanding factors that impact body composition and physical function in older adults.

• Biomedical Engineering
  muscle coordination; normal and pathological movement; experimental and simulation studies; musculoskeletal modeling
• Biomechanics
  Muscle coordination of normal and pathological movements; upper and lower extremity function; musculoskeletal modeling and simulation
• Life & Health Sciences
  osteoarthritis; stroke; rehabilitation science

• Control of Upright Balance during Standing/Walking
• Multisensory Processing for Balance Control
• Virtual Reality
• Neurological Conditions that Lead to Balance Deficits
• Concussion, Parkinson’s Disease, Vestibular Loss, Cerebral Palsy, Aging

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Elastography
• Brain Tissue Mechanics
• Neuroimaging

• Chronic Ankle Instability
• Effects of repetitive head impacts in soccer players across the spectrum
• Functional performance and recovery assessment in the athletic population

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and surgery
• Knee gait biomechanics
• Neuromusculoskeletal modeling
• Finite element modeling
• Semi-quantitative and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Spine biomechanics

Research in our lab focuses on how humans learn to perform skilled movements. We combine behavioral testing in healthy and patient populations with computational modeling in order to address this question. Current areas of interest include interactions between different learning processes supporting skilled movement, the effect of practice on movement planning, and how information from multiple sensory modalities (e.g., vision and proprioception) is used to guide behavior.

Study of the terminal differentiation of progenitor cells into cells producing an organized mineralized extracellular matrix (ECM) during murine embryonic development. This area of research includes the study of the mechanisms of cartilage (chondrogenesis), bone (osteogenesis), and tooth (odontogenesis) development.

• Effects of Parkinson’s disease and aging on the neural control of movement
• Exercise to improve neuromuscular function in people with Parkinson’s disease and older adults
• Muscular force control at the level of the motor unit
• Neuromuscular research methodology

Improve the function of individuals with central nervous system injury through the application of electrical stimulation to activate paralyzed or weakened muscles.  To this end, I am interested in the use of electrical stimulation as a tool to study the physiologic characteristics of muscle and the central and peripheral nervous systems; to be applied as a rehabilitative or training method to improve muscle function and strength; and as a method to produce functional movement (FES) of impaired muscles.

• Investigation of the role of perceptual-motor experiences in learning and problem-solving
• Design of early, effective interventions and rehabilitation devices to advance development for infants and children with delays

• Biomedical Engineering
  Soft Tissue Biomechanics; Cartilage Tissue Engineering; Cell Biomechanics
• Biomechanics
  Theory, modeling and simulation of articular cartilage; Bio-tribology of temporomandibular joint; Cell force in chondrocytes
• Solid Mechanics
  Mixture theory for connective tissue
• Life & Health Sciences
  Repair of cartilage lesion; Bone marrow involved cartilage repair

• Biomedical Engineering
  human movement, motion analysis, neuromuscular modeling, EMG, muscle & joint contact force
• Biomechanics
  human movement, motion analysis, neuromuscular modeling, EMG, muscle & joint contact force
• Life & Health Sciences
  human movement, motion analysis, neuromuscular modeling, EMG, muscle & joint contact force

Although sights and sounds are experienced starting with changes in receptor surfaces (retina, eardrum), they do not have the same embodied component as in touch. This is likely because of the seemingly veridical relationship between the location of our receptor surface (skin) and the perceived location of sensation; one that makes it difficult to conceive that our body percepts are strictly a product of neural processes. However, the relationship between neural processes and body representations is clearly evident in individuals with impairments after amputation (phantom limbs), chronic pain, or brain damage. Research in the Medina lab is committed to understanding how we represent the body, how we integrate body representations with spatial, attentional, and motor systems, and how we represent the location of stimuli in our environment.

The research uses behavioral testing with brain damaged and neurologically intact individuals, along with non-invasive brain stimulation techniques.

• Interlimb Coordination and Locomotor Impairments Following Stroke, especially (a) effects of corticospinal tract lesions on human lower extremity coordination and (b) spinal versus supraspinal contributions to interlimb coordination during locomotion.
• Mechanisms of Motor Adaptation and Motor Learning, including: (a) cerebral motor versus cerebellar contributions to motor learning, (b) mechanisms of adaptation, operant reinforcement, and use-dependent learning of motor skills and (c) using motor learning approaches to enhance long-term recovery of walking post-stroke.
• Motor Cortical Interhemispheric Effects in Health and Disease, including: the role of transcortical connections and ipsilateral motor cortical structures in bilateral leg movements in individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis.
• Non-invasive Brain Stimulation to Improve Motor Recovery after Stroke, including whether such treatments as transcranial direct current stimulation or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation augments traditional physical rehabilitation for sensorimotor recovery post-stroke.

• Biomechanics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Life & Health Sciences

Investigation of the movement deficits of persons with neurologic injury and the study of treatment interventions aimed at addressing those deficits. In addition, studying basic movement coordination and the neurophysiologic and biomechanical processes underlying this coordination.

• Biomechanics

• Control of blood pressure and flow
• Mathematical modeling of the circulation
• Biomedical signal processing

• Biomechanics and energetics of gait
• Amputee locomotion
• Knee osteoarthritis

• Clean Energy
  Mechanics of electrolyte and Fuel Cell materials and structures
• Composite Materials
  Micromechanics and failure analysis and characterization of Composites and Nano-composites
• Biomechanics
  Orthopedic biomechanics
• Solid Mechanics
  Mechanics and failure of complex material systems with micro-structure or nano-structure including advanced composites and biomaterials

• Impairments in sensorimotor control and learning in neural injury (Stroke, Movement Disorders, Concussion)
• Robotic and rehabilitation of upper limb sensorimotor impairment
• Brain stimulation techniques for rehabilitation
• Investigation of brain-behavior relationships via neuroimaging and robotics

• Wearable robot technologies
• MR-compatible mechatronics
• Compliant actuation
• Robotic neurorehabilitation
• Sensorimotor learning and control

To treat and rehabilitate individuals with chronic and acute tendon injuries to achieve the optimal response in the tendon, while improving patients’ impairments and symptoms. Currently, the majority of research involves patients with Achilles and Patellar tendon injuries.

• Lower-Limb Amputation
• Chronic Low Back Pain
• Muscle Morphology and Function
• Clinical Outcome Measures

Sports related knee and shoulder injury.

Help people reach their optimal level of function when an injury, disease or other health related condition results in physical disability. His interests center on rehabilitation biomechanics and the clinical application of human motion capture, analysis and simulation methodologies. Specific topic areas include gait, balance, prosthetics and orthotics, modeling pediatric obesity, and more recently, joint stiffness, bone shape, rapid virtual prototyping of advanced prostheses and orthoses. Over the years, Dr. Stanhope has investigated a broad range of patient conditions including: limb sparing procedures in osteogenic sarcomas, femoral neuropathies, Proteus syndrome, chronic stroke, Parkinson’s disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, amputation, post polio syndrome, cerebral palsy, cerebellar ataxia and aging.

Areas of research interest in his work include the development and implementation of novel devices and biomechanical measurement, modeling, and analysis techniques. This work has lead to the development of: a minimally invasive skeletal tracking method, a method for calibrating instrumented treadmills in situ, a novel body weight support system, and several commercially available products.

• What are the Neuromechanics that make people injury prone?
• Neurocognitive factors of unintentional injuries
• Sensorimotor aspects of musculoskeletal pathology after concussions
• ACL tears, Unstable shoulders, Ankle sprains, Concussions, Hamstring Strains, Osteoarthritis

Our research focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the molecular and nanoscale structure and dynamics of complex materials, especially during flow and processing, which falls under the broader disciplines of rheology, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, complex fluids and soft matter. Our goals include directing molecular and nanoscale self-assembly as a route to engineering novel materials. We are also pioneering new experimental methods for probing nanoscale material structure in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research and Institute Laue Langevin, (ILL) France. Our research has broad application, is supported by the NSF, NASA, NIST, and industry, and includes collaborations around the globe. Translation to practice includes product engineering and entrepreneurial activities through STF Technologies LLC. Teaching interests include Design and Product Engineering, Mass and Heat Transport, Thermodynamics, Colloid and Interface Science and Scattering Methods for Characterizing Soft Matter.with cerebral palsy

• Biomedical Engineering
  Mechanobiology of skeletal tissues, bioimaging, mathematical modeling, porous media
• Biomechanics
  Biomechanics of bone and cartilage, advanced bioimaging, mathematical/computatinal modeling
• Life & Health Sciences
  Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, mechanobiology

• American College of Rheumatology: Research and Education Foundation
  Bridge Funding Award
  2014-2015