Ata Kiapour

Dr Kiapour graduated from the University of Toledo in 2013 with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, before attending Harvard Medical School as a Research Fellow. His research lies in the intersection of joint biomechanics, orthopaedics, and soft-tissue mechanics. Dr. Kiapour's work focuses on mechano-biology of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and repair in an effort to reduce the risk of these devastating injuries and improve the primary outcomes of surgical treatments. In particular, he studies mechanisms and risk factors associated with non-contact ACL injuries, and the biomechanical and biological factors that affect injured ACL repair.

His doctoral work focused on the 'non-contact ACL injury mechanisms and associated risk factors' using a novel integrated in sim approach including ex vivo experiments and computer modeling. The research conducted using these techniques has yielded invaluable information with regard to the broader goals of ACL injury research. These findings have been featured as "Challenging Conventional Thought on ACL Injury Mechanism". Overall findings may help to improve current preventative, surgical and rehabilitation strategies and limit the risk of ACL injuries and development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

His research at Boston Children's Hospital investigates the interactions between joint biomechanics and biologic responses during ACL repair. In particular, he is interested in how gender, knee joint anatomy and biomechanics mediate the biology of ACL repair following injury. This is part of a broader goal to optimise the recently developed bio-enhanced ACL repair in an effort to improve the outcomes regarding restored ACL properties, joint function and risk of post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

Ata has also been involved in various translational research projects funded by the orthopaedic and medical device industry, mainly focused on spinal disorders. The outcomes of those projects have provided insight towards the biomechanical performance of a variety of newly developed orthopaedic devices and surgical techniques.