M. Ben Christensen

M. Ben Christensen, MSci, PhD

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Surgery

Divisions: Urology

Academic Office Information

ben.christensen@utah.edu

Dr. Christensen is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Urology, Department of Surgery and the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. His current research focus is on fibrosis and inflammation, with ongoing projects centered on superficial fibrosing disorders (Peyronie’s Disease and Dupuytren’s Disease), idiopathic subglottic stenosis, inflammation in the airway subsequent to inhaled corticosteroids for asthma treatment, and nerve damage leading to vocal fold paralysis. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Christensen’s research primarily focused on evaluating the foreign body response to microelectrodes implanted into the nervous system. In his spare time, Dr. Christensen enjoys running in the mountains and traveling.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Chao MR, Howe KA, Pierce JL, Stark AC, Smith ME, Christensen MB (2019). Morphometric Differences in the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve in Patients with Vocal Fold Paralysis. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol, 129(1), 3489419870829.
  2. Winslow BD, Christensen MB, Yang WK, Solzbacher F, Tresco PA (2010). A comparison of the tissue response to chronically implanted Parylene-C-coated and uncoated planar silicon microelectrode arrays in rat cortex. Biomaterials, 31(35), 9163-72.
  3. Nolta NF, Christensen MB, Crane PD, Skousen JL, Tresco PA (2015). BBB leakage, astrogliosis, and tissue loss correlate with silicon microelectrode array recording performance. Biomaterials, 53, 753-62.
  4. Christensen MB, Wark HA, Hutchinson DT (2016). A histological analysis of human median and ulnar nerves following implantation of Utah slanted electrode arrays. Biomaterials, 77, 235-42.
  5. Patel DP, Christensen MB, Hotaling JM, Pastuszak AW (2019). A review of inflammation and fibrosis: implications for the pathogenesis of Peyronie's disease. World J Urol, 38(2), 253-261.
  6. Christensen MB, Wolchok JC, Klemuk SA, Titze IR (2015). Development of a bilayer ring system for achieving high strain in commercial rheometers. J Biomech, 48(12), 3512-6.
  7. Choi SI, Christensen MB, Fredin N, Pitt WG (2005). Swellable coatings for hearing aid applications. J Biomater Appl, 20(2), 123-35.
  8. Woo JH, King SN, Hoffman H, Dailey S, Wang S, Christensen MB, Thibeault SL (2016). MERS versus Standard Surgical Approaches for Porcine Vocal Fold Scarring with Adipose Stem Cell Constructs. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 155(4), 612-23.
  9. Mathews KS, Wark HA, Warren DJ, Christensen MB, Nolta NF, Cartwright PC, Normann RA (2014). Acute monitoring of genitourinary function using intrafascicular electrodes: selective pudendal nerve activity corresponding to bladder filling, bladder fullness, and genital stimulation. Urology, 84(3), 722-9.
  10. Bartlett RS, Guille JT, Chen X, Christensen MB, Wang SF, Thibeault SL (2016). Mesenchymal stromal cell injection promotes vocal fold scar repair without long-term engraftment. Cytotherapy, 18(10), 1284-96.
  11. Wark HA, Sharma R, Mathews KS, Fernandez E, Yoo J, Christensen B, Tresco P, Rieth L, Solzbacher F, Normann RA, Tathireddy P (2013). A new high-density (25 electrodes/mm²) penetrating microelectrode array for recording and stimulating sub-millimeter neuroanatomical structures. J Neural Eng, 10(4), 045003.
  12. Christensen MB, Pearce SM, Ledbetter NM, Warren DJ, Clark GA, Tresco PA (2014). The foreign body response to the Utah Slant Electrode Array in the cat sciatic nerve. Acta Biomater, 10(11), 4650-4660.
  13. Christensen MB, Tresco PA (2018). The foreign body response and morphometric changes associated with mesh-style peripheral nerve cuffs. Acta Biomater, 67, 79-86.
  14. Christensen MB, Tresco PA (2015). Differences Exist in the Left and Right Sciatic Nerves of Naïve Rats and Cats. Anat Rec (Hoboken), 298(8), 1492-501.
  15. Christensen MB, Oberg K, Wolchok JC (2015). Tensile properties of the rectal and sigmoid colon: a comparative analysis of human and porcine tissue. Springerplus, 4, 142.
  16. Patel DP, Christensen MB, Hotaling JM, Pastuszak AW (2019). Erectile Dysfunction and Peyronie's Disease: Genetic Diseases? Eur Urol Focus, 6(3), 572-574.
  17. Nolta NF, Christensen MB, Tresco P (2024). Advanced age is not a barrier to chronic intracortical single-unit recording in rat cortex. Frontiers in neuroscience, 18, 1389556.
  18. Tanner K, Robison HJ, Stevens ME, Merrill RM, Dromey C, Barkmeier-Kraemer J, Christensen M (2023). Corticosteroid-LABA inhalers increase phonation threshold pressure (PTP) and flow (PTF) in rabbits. The Laryngoscope, 133(10), 2680-2686.
  19. Allen-Brady KL, Christensen MB, Sandberg AD, Pastuszak A (2022). Significant familial clustering of Peyronie's disease in close and distant relatives. Andrology, 10(7), 1361-1367.
  20. King RE, Lau HK, Zhang H, Sidhu I, Christensen MB, Fowler EW, Li L, Jia X, Kiick KL, Thibeault S (2019). Biocompatibility and Viscoelastic Properties of Injectable Resilin-Like Polypeptide and Hyaluronan Hybrid Hydrogels in Rabbit Vocal Folds. Regenerative engineering and translational medicine, 5(4), 373-386.
  21. Kollech HG, Chao MR, Stark AC, German RZ, Paniello RC, Christensen MB, Barkmeier-Kraemer JM, Vande Geest J (2022). Extracellular matrix deformations of the porcine recurrent laryngeal nerve in response to hydrostatic pressure. Acta biomaterialia, 153, 364-373.

Review

  1. Twitchell DK, Christensen MB, Hackett G, Morgentaler A, Saad F, Pastuszak A (2022). Examining Male Predominance of Severe COVID-19 Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Androgens, 3(1), 41-53.
  2. Adam JA, Pastuszak AW, Christensen MB, Spencer R, Sandberg A, Hotaling JM, Lipshultz L (2023). Occurrence of pulmonary oil microembolism (POME) with intramuscular testosterone undecanoate injection: literature review. International journal of impotence research, 35(5), 439-446.