Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ

Emily MillerÌýis a fifthÌýyear Biomedical Engineering (BME) PhDÌýstudent conducting research in Dr. Corey Neu's Soft Tissue Bioengineering Lab. ÌýShe will defend her dissertation in summer 2024.

What brought you to the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder and attracted you to the BME program?

My path to biomedical engineering is somewhat nontraditional. I majored in biology and minored in math as an undergrad at Middlebury College, and as I progressed in my degree, I began to look for career paths that combined both. I was lucky enough to work in a biomedical imaging lab during my senior year of undergrad, which really pushed me to consider biomedical engineering as a potential path.Ìý

After undergrad, I landed in a fantastic biomechanics lab as a masters student at the University of Virginia. I learned many foundational biomechanics skills there and really fell in love with the field of computational biomechanics. While I originally decided to pursue a master’s degree due to my uncertainty about transitioning from the liberal arts to engineering, I knew from that experience that I wanted to eventually obtain a PhD, however I was looking to move in a different research direction. When I applied to PhD programs, I was specifically looking for research that combined clinical musculoskeletal imaging studies with biomechanics. During my interview at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, my current advisor, Dr. Corey Neu, presented me with a project that I really could not turn down. I was also drawn to join the BME program at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ because it was a unique opportunity to be part of a new department and contribute to the BME program’s early growth and culture formation.Ìý

Tell us about your research. What is it that you study?

I develop novel MRI and biomechanical methods to study cartilage degeneration in the knee, specifically in the population of adults that are at risk for post-traumatic Osteoarthritis that occurs after an ACL tear. As part of my PhD, I have played a major role in initial implementation and running a clinical observational study in which we have brought in participants who are 6 months and one-year post-ACL surgery for a series of MRI scans. With these MRI methods we can learn about both mechanical and biochemical changes to the knee joint that occur after ACL surgery. A major part of my PhD research has also been targeted towards the development of biomechanically based elastography methods, basically using computational tools to determine how soft or stiff cartilage tissue is, based only on MRI data. We are hoping we can use this work to determine participants who are most at risk for developing osteoarthritis after an ACL tear.

How did you first get involved in your research and what drew you to it?Ìý

Before Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, I had experience in both biomedical imaging and computational biomechanics and was looking to combine both of those in my PhD project. While I think the field of biomechanics has so much interesting ongoing research, I was particularly drawn to this project because I tore an ACL roughly a decade ago and am myself a part of the population at risk for developing osteoarthritis. I had no idea this project existed when I applied to Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, I just knew that there were some people doing great biomechanics work here. I feel exceptionally lucky to work on a PhD project with personal relevance.

Ironically, about a year ago, and three years after I started this project, I tore an ACL again in my other leg. It’s been an interesting experience to go through the surgical and recovery process, while simultaneously studying it, as well as interacting with the patients in my clinical studies. I actually have some really interesting data on myself now, because we took MRI images of my knee before I tore my ACL while we were in a validation phase. We then took MRI images at various timepoints after my surgery. In this type of work, it’s so rare to have data from images taken before an injury, that this has become an exciting case study, that my lab hopes to publish at a later date.

What advice would you share with a student interested in studying biomedical engineering or your specific field?

I think it’s important to find a subject where you both enjoy the technical part of the research, whether that’s wet lab experiments, or computational work, or clinical work and feel intellectually challenged or inspired by the questions you seek to answer.Ìý

As a PhD student, what role has mentoring played in your work?Ìý

I’ve mentored multiple undergrads in my work, and currently have two fantastic undergrads helping me with our MRI data processing. I’ve also personally benefitted a good deal from being mentored by more senior grad students and postdocs in all the labs I’ve been a member of, as well as by my current research advisor, Dr. Corey Neu.Ìý

How would you like your work to help society?

I believe that the creation of early and noninvasive diagnostic tools is critical to personalized and preventative medicine. I hope that my work developing methods to assess early cartilage degeneration will enhance clinical abilities to diagnose pre-osteoarthritis cartilage changes before irreversible changes to the joint occur.Ìý

What do you love best about attending Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder?

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder has a fantastic graduate community, especially in engineering. Outside of my research work here, I’ve enjoyed the friendships I’ve made with other grad students and the relationships I’ve built. I’ve especially enjoyed the opportunities to stay active, whether that is skiing with friends, or playing other sports. I’ve played for several years now on an indoor soccer team with other graduate engineering students, which has been a great social and physical outlet.Ìý