Bardiya Akhbari, M.Sc., Ph.,D.

Did you know that 9 out of 10 patients who have joint pain say their mood is negatively impacted by it? Did you know more than half of patients avoid social situations just because of the pain?

I am a biomechanist. I use my mechanical engineering, computer science, and signal processing knowledge to study healthy and unhealthy joints to help patients to live their life to the fullest. I use statistical learning methods (+EHR data) to develop predictive models in order to provide surgeons and clinicians with helpful data (e.g., fracture healing outcomes) when they see patients. Moreover, I use imaging techniques such as biplane videoradiography and optical motion captures to study body movement in vivo (human studies) in order to design data-driven procedures to achieve better performance. I use electrical impedance myography and tomography to quantify muscle health to help with the diagnosis and prognosis of pathological conditions.

I studied Mechanical Engineering at one of the best technical schools in Iran, Sharif University of Technology, with a focus on design and computational modeling in biomechanics. Learning in such an inspiring intellectual environment allowed me to cultivate my interest in science and engineering. I was specifically captivated by analytical design through the use of computational modeling, and I excelled with engineering software, including CAD programs such as ADAMS and coding languages such as MATLAB. 

Given the cutting-edge developments in mechanical engineering and biomechanics in the United States, I decided to continue my education in the US at The University of Kansas (KU) on a full scholarship. At KU, I joined the Experimental Joint Biomechanics Research Laboratory (EJBRL) to learn the experimental aspects of the field under the supervision of Prof. Lorin Maletsky. During my M.Sc., I learned LabVIEW (Cheers to NDI and Sami Shalhoub) and upgraded a controller for the Kansas Knee Simulator to execute gait and squat cycles on cadavers. I also designed and built a pendulum machine to simulate football impacts and the helmet's effect on preventing the sudden acceleration of the head.

At the end of my M.Sc., I knew I want to learn more. That's why I joined Brown University to deepen my understanding of orthopedics and osteoarthritis in 2016. In the Bioengineering Laboratory, I'm working with Prof. Trey Crisco, Doug Moore, and Amy Morton on multiple projects involving the wrist and carpometacarpal joints. I used advanced imaging techniques and optical motion capture cameras to analyze the motion of these upper extremity joints (I developed the software and implemented some major upgrades for its optimization approach + used high-performance computing systems to speed it up!). My main goal was to learn more about the kinematics and dynamics of these joints in order to improve the implant designs.

I went to Harvard Medical School (HMS) after that for 1-year post-doc before I transition to industry. I loved my time at HMS doing some impactful work on making an automated DL-based decision support systems. Also, I loved living in Cambridge/Boston and the memories and the walks/runs next to Charles river are something I never forget!

In my free time, I enjoy running in random streets, swimming, reading books, and listening to podcasts. My favorites topics are science, religion, philosophy, and history (e.g., Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Arthur Schopenhauer, Howard Zinn).