About Me
My professional interest has focused on injury biomechanics and high rate trauma to the central and peripheral nervous system, including the blood vessels that perfuse these tissues. Physical injury often involves high forces and accelerations, and understanding the viscoelastic response of the tissues of the human body is key to predicting injury severity and outcome.
My current focus is on injury to the peripheral nervous system. Stretch injury is the most commonly encountered nerve injury from accidents and trauma, with a complex elongated zone of tissue disruption and dysfunctional repair. As these types of injuries are common in young populations, and elevated in active and high risk professions such as the military, it is imperative we develop better treatments for what currently often results in lifelong pain or disability.
Previous research interests include study of high rate brain tissue deformation and contusion, and the response of the circulatory system in the brain to blast overpressure loading. These high rate injury phenomena are all linked by the response of tissue to extreme forces over short periods of time, and the potential for lifelong neurological dysfunction, reduced quality of life, and death. I strongly feel that I have a duty to my country to devote my research abilities to assisting those who suffer injury in war, and to help improve the treatment and outcomes for anyone afflicted by sudden trauma.