Associate Professor
Engineering
Keywords:
Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Mechanics
Research:
Spencer Lake’s research focuses on soft tissue biomechanics, with an emphasis on orthopaedic tissues, such as tendon and ligament. His research uses a multiscale experimental and computational approach to evaluate the in vivo loading environment, tissue properties, and microstructural structure-function relationships of tissues that function in complex physiologic environments.
Studies conducted by Lake’s research group in the Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Laboratory aim to enhance fundamental understanding of healthy tissue properties, elucidate changes that occur in (and mechanisms responsible for) injury/disease, and provide guidelines for improved treatment/replacement strategies. While focused primarily on tendon and ligament of the upper extremity (i.e., shoulder and elbow), these studies also have broad applicability towards understanding properties and relationships of many different native and engineered soft tissues.