Award Winners Spotlight

Antonie J. (Ton) van den Bogert, Cleveland State University

This is the most prestigious honor given by the ASB. The award recognizes outstanding career accomplishment and is awarded annually to an investigator who has conducted exemplary research in any area of biomechanics.

Antonie J. (Ton) van den Bogert is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Cleveland State University. Dr. van den Bogert earned a B.S./M.S. degree in Experimental Physics from the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, and a PhD in Veterinary Sciences. After postdoctoral work in sports biomechanics with Dr. Benno Nigg, he held faculty positions at the University of Calgary (1993-1998) and the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic (1998-2010). From 2012 to 2023, he was the Parker-Hannifin Endowed Chair in Human Motion and Control at Cleveland State University. He has worked as an industry consultant since 1996, in the fields of motion capture, rehabilitation, and sports equipment, and continues to do so.

Dr. van den Bogert’s academic research has included locomotion in horses, sports injuries, joint replacement, and optimal control of human movement and assistive devices. He has made important contributions to techniques for analysis and computer simulation of human movement. Published work includes over 170 journal articles and book chapters, and six patents in rehabilitation technology. He has served as President of the International Society of Biomechanics, and since 1988 has been moderator of Biomch-L, an online discussion forum on human and animal movement science. Notable awards are the Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2005), and the Jim Hay Award for Sports Biomechanics from the American Society of Biomechanics (2020). He is a Fellow of the International Society of Biomechanics and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Ronald F. Zernicke, University of Michigan

The ASB Jim Hay Memorial Award recognizes originality, quality, and depth of biomechanics research that addresses fundamental research questions relevant to extraordinary demands imposed in sport and exercise.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­At the University of Michigan (UM), Ron Zernicke is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, with joint appointments in Kinesiology and Biomedical Engineering. He was Dean of the UM School of Kinesiology and is currently Co-Director of UM Human Performance & Sport Science Center.

He was Executive Director of the Alberta Provincial Bone and Joint Health Institute, and at the University of Calgary, he was Wood Professor in Joint Injury Research in Cumming School of Medicine; Professor/Dean of Kinesiology; and Professor, Schulich School of Engineering.

After matriculating at Concordia University Chicago (BA) and University of Wisconsin–Madison (MS/PhD), he joined UCLA and was Professor/Department Chair of Kinesiology when he was recruited to Calgary. He received: UCLA Award for Distinguished Teaching, City of Calgary Community Achievement Award (Education), UCalgary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Supervision, and was Alumnus of the Year (Concordia University Chicago). He received an honorary DSc (Applied Health Sciences) from University of Waterloo.

He was elected President of the American (ASB), Canadian (CSB), and International (ISB) Societies of Biomechanics, and National Academy of Kinesiology, and Co-Chaired two ISB Congresses and 4^th World Congress of Biomechanics. Research awards include: NASA (Cosmos Achievement Award), Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (Yasuda Award for Outstanding Research Paper), ASB/ISB (Delsys Award), CSB (Career Award), CORS (Founder’s Medal for Best Research), and CIHR (Partnership Award).

His career research support (>$50 million) includes: Arthritis Society of Canada, Adidas, NBA/NBPA, Detroit Tigers, Canadian Space Agency, NASA, NSERC, CFI, CIHR, NSF, and NIH with his focus on exercise and sport related: (1) bone adaptation, (2) human movement dynamics and performance, and (3) joint injury and osteoarthritis.

Katherine Saul, North Carolina State University

The Founders’ Award was established in 2017 to recognize scientific accomplishment in biomechanics and excellence in mentoring and is open to investigators of all disciplines within ASB.

Dr. Saul is a Professor, University Faculty Scholar, and Associate Department Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Dr. Saul received her ScB in Engineering from Brown University, and her MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She was previously interim Department Head of Forest Biomaterials at NC State in 2023, and an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine from 2007-2013. Dr. Saul held the position of UNC System Academic Affairs Faculty Fellow from 2019-2021 exploring digital learning initiatives and supporting the UNC System universities to convert to effective online instruction during the pandemic. She has served on the Executive Board of the American Society of Biomechanics as Meeting Chair, Diversity Task Force Chair, and Secretary, and as Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics and PLOS ONE.

The goal of Dr. Saul’s research in the Movement Biomechanics Laboratory is to improve treatment for upper limb neuromusculoskeletal conditions by providing biomechanical insight to clinicians regarding the effects of neuromuscular and orthopaedic injury and clinical interventions. She is a leader in developing computational models of the upper limb for rehabilitation engineering applications. She has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Society of Biomechanics, an Engineering Unleashed Fellow of the Kern Family Foundation, and an OpenSim Fellow of the National Center for Simulation in Rehabilitation Research. Other honors include American Society of Biomechanics Predoctoral Young Scientist (2005), Medtronic Foundation Graduate Fellow, Whitaker Foundation Graduate Fellow, NCAA Woman of the Year (Rhode Island, 2000), and Brown University Athletics Hall of Fame recipient. She has received the Outstanding Teaching Award at NCSU at the department, college, university, and Alumni Association levels and the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award from the NCSU Graduate School.

Wendy M Murray, Northwestern University

Dr. Wendy Murray is a Full Professor at Northwestern University in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Physical Therapy & Human Movement Sciences. Her research group spans Northwestern University, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, and the Edward Hines Jr., VA Hospital. As a part of a unique, long-standing collaboration between Northwestern and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the first-ever translational rehabilitation research hospital, her lab is housed in clinical space in the hospital.

The foundation for Dr. Murray’s work is the development of biomechanical models that accurately represent the mechanical actions of the upper extremity muscles. The main thrust of her current research is the application of these models to better understand and, ultimately, to help improve function of the disabled upper limb. The biomechanical models and corresponding anatomical databases that Dr. Murray has shared with the scientific community have been cited hundreds of times. In addition to the investigator-initiated award funding that has enabled her research program to thrive, the trainees in her program have been awarded support from NIH, NSF, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, American Heart Association, De Luca Foundation, Foundation for Physical Therapy, American Society of Biomechanics, and International Society of Biomechanics.

Dr. Murray is an active citizen in the biomechanics community. Her lab serves as the central organizational hub for the National Biomechanics Day events celebrated by the Northwestern and AbilityLab communities and their efforts have been recognized with a “Greatest Impact Award” twice. She has served as President of the American Society of Biomechanics, member-at-large of the Executive Board of the US National Committee on Biomechanics, and Member of the Editorial Committee of the Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Society of Biomechanics.

Silvia Blemker, University of Virginia

Silvia Salinas Blemker is the Robert Thomson Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia. She received her BS and MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She is fascinated by skeletal muscle and physiology, and she leads the Multi-scale Muscle Mechanophysiology Lab, which develops multi-scale computational and experimental techniques to study skeletal muscle biomechanics and physiology.  The lab explores a range of applications including speech disorders, vision impairments, aging, muscular dystrophies, and human performance. New projects include developing models that incorporate for sex-differences in musculoskeletal structure and simulating the effects of estrogen levels on muscle regeneration.  Dr. Blemker is a co-founder and currently serves as Chief Science Officer at Springbok Analytics, a company commercializing image-based muscle analytics AI technology for a range of applications from muscle diseases to sports medicine.  She is a fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers.

Chun-Kai Huang, The University of Kansas

Dr. Huang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Science, and Athletic Training at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). Bringing a wealth of expertise in biomechanics and physical therapy to his research endeavors, Dr. Huang’s academic journey began with a focus on the impact of virtual reality technology on gait adjustment in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) during his PhD studies in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Building upon this foundation, Dr. Huang embarked on three years of postdoctoral training in the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Lincoln, NE, exploring the integration of virtual reality gaming with motor-assisted elliptical to understand its effects on engagement, physiological, and lower extremity biomechanical aspects in typically developing children.

With a commitment to making meaningful contributions to the lives and wellness of aging populations and patients with DM, Dr. Huang’s long-term career goal is to become an independent investigator in human movement science, specializing in the neural mechanisms of cortical control that contributes to movement deficits.

Dr. Huang directs the Clinical Locomotion and Emerging Virtual Reality Lab (CLEVR) at KUMC. Driven by a passion for understanding the neuromechanisms underlying balance and gait abnormalities in aging populations and patients with DM, his current research focuses on analyzing postural control, gait, and lower extremity kinematics during quiet standing and overground walking using wearable sensors, virtual reality technology, and a force plate, with the ultimate goal of unraveling the relationship between the cortical control and movement deficits in this population.

Caitlin Banks, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Caitlin Banks is a postdoctoral fellow at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. She received a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the University of Delaware, an MS in BME at the University of Florida, and a PhD in BME at the University of California Davis. Her research focuses on walking, lower extremity sensorimotor function, and social determinants of health in people post-stroke. Dr. Banks is interested in continuing her career in clinical research and leading diverse teams that improve assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with gait impairment, particularly those from underrepresented groups and under-resourced communities.

Dr. Banks is a founding executive board member and the current treasurer of International Women in Biomechanics, Inc., a recently designated 501c3 nonprofit and ASB affiliate society working to create community and provide support for women and other underrepresented genders at all career levels in biomechanics. She is also a member of the Black Biomechanists Association Program Planning Committee. Dr. Banks has coordinated and moderated multiple events aimed at increasing diversity in biomechanics and engineering, including three ASB pre-conference workshops. As a half-Black woman with a disability in the biomechanics community, Dr. Banks is always aiming to cultivate spaces that foster diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity.

Kinyata J Cooper, University of Florida

Dr. Kinyata J. Cooper is currently a Post-Doctoral Associate in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Florida. She obtained her PhD in Rehabilitation Science, with a concentration in movement science and disorders, from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Cooper’s current research focuses on clinical biomechanics applied to upper extremity injuries and advanced imaging techniques to characterize rotator cuff muscle performance. As a former Division 1 athlete, she is passionate about identifying injury mechanisms associated with musculoskeletal injuries, improving functional performance testing to determine return-to-sport, and restoring human performance for those recovering from injury. Ultimately, Dr. Cooper’s research mission is to develop innovative strategies that optimize rehabilitation efficacy and improve return to sport/activity outcomes.

With a vision to lead a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation performance research laboratory at a Historically Black College or University, Dr. Cooper is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biomechanics field. Through initiatives such as leading youth outreach events for National Biomechanics Day and serving on the organizing committee of the Black Biomechanist Association, Dr. Cooper advocates for broader representation, opportunities for future scientists of color, and better access for underrepresented communities traditionally overlooked in rehabilitative research and care.

Ashley Collimore, Boston University

Dr. Ashley Collimore is a postdoctoral researcher at Boston University in the Physical Therapy Department. Previously, she received her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from Boston University and a BSE in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania. Her goals are to create and evaluate assistive and rehabilitative technologies that target walking for children with mobility impairments. Her current research is investigating motor development trajectories for infants with Down syndrome and the efficacy of a body-weight support harness that enables independent mobility and exploration for this population.

Dr. Collimore is also passionate about fostering inclusivity and supportive spaces for women in science. She currently serves as the secretary for the International Women in Biomechanics, has led numerous “Women in Science” workshops and panels, and recently collaborated on a National Biomechanics Day event tailored to middle-school girls. Outside of the laboratory, Ashley can be found advising the Boston University chapter of Alpha Delta Pi or spending time outdoors by hiking, running, or playing soccer.