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. Nolta NF, Christensen MB, Tresco PA (2024). Advanced age is not a barrier to chronic intracortical single-unit recording in rat cortex. Front Neurosci, 18, 1389556. (Read full article)
  2. Tanner K, Robison HJ, Stevens ME, Merrill RM, Dromey C, Barkmeier-Kraemer J, Christensen MB (2023). Corticosteroid-LABA inhalers increase phonation threshold pressure (PTP) and flow (PTF) in rabbits. Laryngoscope, 133(10), 2680-2686. (Read full article)
  3. Kollech HG, Chao MR, Stark AC, German RZ, Paniello RC, Christensen MB, Barkmeier-Kraemer JM, Vande Geest JP (2022). Extracellular matrix deformations of the porcine recurrent laryngeal nerve in response to hydrostatic pressure. Acta Biomater, 153, 364-373. (Read full article)
  4. Allen-Brady KL, Christensen MB, Sandberg AD, Pastuszak AW (2022). Significant familial clustering of Peyronie's disease in close and distant relatives. Andrology, 10(7), 1361-1367. (Read full article)
  5. King RE, Lau HK, Zhang H, Sidhu I, Christensen MB, Fowler EW, Li L, Jia X, Kiick KL, Thibeault SL (2019). Biocompatibility and Viscoelastic Properties of Injectable Resilin-Like Polypeptide and Hyaluronan Hybrid Hydrogels in Rabbit Vocal Folds. Regen Eng Transl Med, 5(4), 373-386. (Read full article)
  6. Patel DP, Christensen MB, Hotaling JM, Pastuszak AW (2019). Erectile Dysfunction and Peyronie's Disease: Genetic Diseases? Eur Urol Focus, 6(3), 572-574. (Read full article)
  7. 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. (Read full article)
  8. 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. (Read full article)
  9. Christensen MB, Tresco PA (2017). The foreign body response and morphometric changes associated with mesh-style peripheral nerve cuffs. Acta Biomater, 67, 79-86. (Read full article)
  10. 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. (Read full article)
  11. 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. (Read full article)
  12. Christensen MB, Wark HA, Hutchinson DT (2015). A histological analysis of human median and ulnar nerves following implantation of Utah slanted electrode arrays. Biomaterials, 77, 235-42. (Read full article)
  13. 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. (Read full article)
  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. (Read full article)
  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. (Read full article)
  16. 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. (Read full article)
  17. 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. (Read full article)
  18. Mathews KS, Wark HA, Warren DJ, Christensen MB, Nolta NF, Cartwright PC, Normann RA (2013). 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. (Read full article)
  19. 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. (Read full article)
  20. 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. (Read full article)
  21. Choi SI, Christensen MB, Fredin N, Pitt WG (2005). Swellable coatings for hearing aid applications. J Biomater Appl, 20(2), 123-35. (Read full article)

Review

  1. Adam JA, Pastuszak AW, Christensen MB, Spencer R, Sandberg A, Hotaling JM, Lipshultz LI (2022). Occurrence of pulmonary oil microembolism (POME) with intramuscular testosterone undecanoate injection: literature review. [Review]. Int J Impot Res, 35(5), 439-446. (Read full article)
  2. Twitchell DK, Christensen MB, Hackett G, Morgentaler A, Saad F, Pastuszak AW (2022). Examining Male Predominance of Severe COVID-19 Outcomes: A Systematic Review. [Review]. Androg Clin Res Ther, 3(1), 41-53. (Read full article)