Biomechanics & Biomaterials

Biomechanics Biomaterials

In 1992, Dr. Robert McFarlane and the late Dr. James Roth, Professors in Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, co-founded the Hand and Upper Limb Centre, a combined plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery upper extremity unit.  This unit, the largest of its kind in Canada with 4 plastic surgeons and 8 orthopedic surgeons on staff, has become a nationally and internationally recognized centre of excellence for upper limb patient care, teaching and research.

The Hand and Upper Limb Centre's Bioengineering Research Laboratory has a comprehensive research program that extends bench-top experiments to clinical outcome studies. The Directors are Dr. James Johnson, a mechanical engineer, and orthopaedic surgeons Dr. Graham King and Dr. David Chess. They presently have several graduate students and numerous undergraduate students working in association with orthopaedic fellows and residents, on a wide range of biomechanical studies. The graduate research is focused on a wide range of studies, including joint kinematics, fracture and implant fixation, implant development, and tendon biomechanics.

Graduate Supervisors in the area of Biomechanics and Biomaterials:

Dr. Maria Drangova (Cardiovascular Biomechanics) 
Dr. Bing Siang Gan (Biomechanics)
Dr. Dan Goldman (Hemodynamics)
Dr. Jim Johnson (Biomechanics, Orthopaedics)
Dr. Graham King (Biomechanics)
Dr. Hanif Ladak (Biomechanics, Audiology) 
Dr. Silvia Mittler (Biomaterials)

Dr. J. Geoff Pickering (Cardiovascular Biomechanics) 
Dr. Tamie Poepping (Biomechanics)
Dr. Frank Prato (Cardiovascular Biomechanics)
Dr. Amin Rizkalla (Biomaterials)
Dr. Abbas Samani (Biomechanics, Elastography) 
Dr. Walter Siqueira (Biomechanics)
Dr. Gerald Wisenberg (Cardiovascular Biomechanics)
Dr. Matthew Teeter (Orthopaedic Biomechanics)


Our faculty and their graduate students conduct research in partnership with globally recognized faculty supervisors and clinicians at state-of-the-art facilities located at Western University, London Regional Cancer Program, Lawson Health Research Institute, Robarts Research Institute, and the London Health Sciences Centre. After graduation, students find rewarding careers in the healthcare sector, biomedical industry, and academia; others pursue further training in professional schools such as medicine, dentistry, or business.

If you have a 4 year Honours Degree (or M.Sc.) in Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Biology, Medical Sciences or a related field, and are interested in biomedical research, you are invited to apply to our graduate program.