People

Faculty

Douglas W. Van Citters, PhD

As principal investigator of the Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center for Orthopaedics, Douglas Van Citters oversees musculoskeletal biomaterials, biomechanics, tribology, and device design research. He is also responsible for curation and research activities related to Dartmouth’s arthroplasty retrieval collection. His current research interests include polyethylene wear mechanisms at the micro- and nano- scales, fatigue properties of novel polyethylene formulations, wear and structure of alternative bearings for total hips, polymer structure, wearable technologies, and implantable technologies. Professor Van Citters teaches Thayer School’s two graduate courses in biomaterials, as well as classical mechanics courses. He has been an active collaborator and advisor in the biomaterials field for projects from the departments of orthopaedics, plastic surgery, pediatrics, radiology, physiology, and vascular surgery.

Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College, 1999
Bachelor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, 2003
Master of Science, Thayer School of Engineering, 2003
Doctor of Philosophy, Thayer School of Engineering, 2006

John P. Collier, DE

John Collier is the Myron Tribus Professor of Engineering at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and the co-founder of DBEC. He received his A.B. from Dartmouth College and his B.E., M.E., and D.E. degrees from Thayer School of Engineering. He is a member of the Society for Biomaterials, the Orthopaedic Research Society and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Collier has been a research consultant for Canadian Oxygen, Ltd., DuPont Inc., and for DePuy, a Johnson and Johnson company. He has authored over 30 technical articles and delivered more than 50 conference presentations on aspects of orthopedic implant design and engineering. He also holds three patents for design or processes relating to orthopedic prostheses. At Thayer School he teaches the School's signature course, ENGS 21, Introduction to Engineering, as well as other courses in design methodology.

Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College, 1972
Bachelor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, 1973
Master of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, 1975
Doctor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, 1976

Michael B. Mayor, MD

Michael Mayor, co-founder of DBEC, is the emeritus William N. and Bessie Allyn Professor of Surgery in Orthopaedics at The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and emeritus Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He received his B.E.E. from Yale's Sheffield School of Engineering and his M.D. degree from the Yale School of Medicine. He is a member of the American Orthopaedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Orthopaedic Research Society. Mayor has served with the F4 Committee of ASTM including terms as chairman, the FDA's Advisory Panel on Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Devices including terms as chairman, and on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' and the Orthopaedic Research Society's committees. He has authored over 30 published articles and delivered more than 20 conference presentations on orthopaedic implant retrieval analysis and biomechanics. He has served on the thesis committees for bachelors, masters and PhD students at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth for thirty years.

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, Yale University, 1959
Doctor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 1965
Internship and Residency, Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospitals of Cleveland, 1965-70
NIH Special Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Case Institute Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, 1970-71
Attending Orthopaedic Staff, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, 1971-2006
Faculty, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 1971-present
Adjunct Faculty, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, 1998-present

Full Time Research Team

Barbara H. Currier, MChE

Barbara began her work in orthopaedic device research in 1994 when she joined the Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center. Since 1994, she has been involved in the study of polyethylene bearings in hip and knee prostheses. Current research work is focused on investigating the factors influencing fatigue damage in the knee, and also the shelf and in vivo oxidation processes in UHMWPE bearings, using FTIR spectroscopy, uniaxial tensile testing, and numerical modeling. She has been the lead researcher and author of a number of recent studies on the in vivo performance of UHMWPE bearings.

Bachelor of Science, Rice University, 1978
Master of Chemical Engineering, Rice University, 1979

John H. Currier, MS

John began his association with Dr. John Collier and his early work on hip prostheses in 1979. After spending a number of years working in both production and research for the petroleum industry, he returned to Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center in 1994. He has been involved in the study of polyethylene bearings in hip and knee prostheses. Current research work is focused on investigating wear and damage in knee bearings, the shelf and in vivo oxidation processes in UHMWPE components, and the performance of ceramic hip bearings.

Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College, 1979
Bachelor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, 1981
Master of Science, Thayer School of Engineering, 1981

Rebecca D. Butler, MS

Rebecca joined the Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center in June 2017 and has assumed the role of lab manager. Her work involves administration of the retrievals program, including evaluations of retrieved devices with Dr. Michael Mayor. Her active research interests include chemical changes in marketed polymers, metal-on-metal damage and wear in hip bearings, and techniques for measuring wear in polymers. Rebecca's research also spans to the impedance properties of human tissue in a shared appointment with Professor Ryan Halter.

Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College, 2015
Bachelor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, 2016
Master of Science, Thayer School of Engineering, 2017

Graduate Students and Alumni/ae

Ryan M. Chapman

Ryan began his career as an engineer by earning his undergraduate baccalaureate degree in electrical engineering from The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Following professional work in the sporting goods industry, he earned a Master's degree from the University of Iowa in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on human motor performance and upper extremity biomechanics. After successfully re-tooling the University of Virginia Sports Performance (SPEED) lab, he joins DBEC as an upper extremity biomechanist. His current research efforts are focused on understanding the in-vivo biomechanical performance of individuals following shoulder and knee arthroplasty procedures using wearable technology.

BSEE, The University of St. Thomas, 2010
MS in Biomedical Engineering, The University of Iowa, 2013

Audrey J. Martin

Audrey received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Her interest in orthopedics began in her coursework, but expanded through internships with a cadaver-based biomechanics laboratory in San Francisco and with the R&D shoulder team at Stryker Othropedics. She also conducted research in retrieval analysis for total shoulder replacements as an undergraduate with the Medical Polymer Group at Berkeley. Since her arrival at Dartmouth, her research interests have included metallurgy and degradation of biomaterials with a focus in corrosion of modular junctions.

BSME, University of California, Berkeley, 2013

Michael A. Kokko

Mike comes to DBEC with a background in electromechanical system development and interests that include surgical device design, state estimation, and control systems. He previously led a variety of engineering efforts at Simbex (Lebanon, NH) and designed novel robotic systems at Vecna Technologies (Cambridge, MA). Mike holds degrees in mechanical engineering from RPI (BS, 2005) and MIT (SM, 2007). When not at school, Mike enjoys running, hiking, nordic skiing, and other outdoor adventures with his wife and puppy.

BSME, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2005
MS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007

Fioleda Prifti

Fioleda received a dual bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering and Biochemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2012. She worked in the medical device industry until 2014, during which she helped design and develop a biomaterial scaffold for nerve regeneration. She is currently a PhD Innovation candidate in DBEC, where her current research involves design optimization and understanding of bioceramic adhesives.

BS in Biomedical Engineering and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2012

Alumni/ae

(Still Under Construction...If you're missing, please send us an email!)

Graduate Degrees Earned in the Laboratory and Laboratory Staff

2017 Lindsay Holdcroft, Laboratory Manager

2017 Kathleen Lewicki, PhD

2017 Shailly Jariwala, TREAT Fellow and Research Associate

2015 Mitchell Fung, MS

2014 Steven Reinitz, PhD, Innovation Certificate

2014 Tanille Paniogue, MS

2014 Ben Cunkelman, MS

2013 Jay Vincelli, MS

2010 Evan Carlson, MS

2012 Dermott McHugh, MS

2010 Ashley Martin, MS

2009 J. Caitlin Huot, MS

2008 Nicola Mootoo, MS

2008 Mariah Hughlock, MS

2005 Jon Kittredge, MS

2005 Sara Atwood, MS