My lab researches the motor control and biomechanics of feeding system. My lab uses electromyography and fluoromicrometry to study feeding muscle function, high speed biplanar videofluoroscopy to study 3d tongue and jaw kinematics, and finite element modelling to study mandible mechanics. We study diverse taxa.
My lab is working on understanding how both the jaw and tongue are moved and controlled during oral behaviors such as drinking, chewing and swallowing.
Dr. Nicho Hatsopoulos and my lab use neural recording techniques to study the role of motor and sensory cortex in control of oral behaviors including chewing and swallowing. We are researching neural encoding of jaw and tongue movements, neuroplasticity associated with learning new oral skills, and, with Dr. Fritzie Arce-McShane, the role of different oral sensory pathways in control of jaw and tongue movement.
My lab and Dr. Zeray Alemseged are using finite-element models of primate jaws to study mandible design in humans, great apes, and fossil hominids.
Dr. Russell Reid in the Department of Surgery and my lab are working with Drs. Olga Panagiotopoulou in Australia and Felippe Prado in Brazil on bioengineering of human jaw function during distraction osteogenesis and fracture repair.
Ontogenetic changes in bite force and gape in tufted capuchins.
Ontogenetic changes in bite force and gape in tufted capuchins. J Exp Biol. 2023 08 01; 226(15).
PMID: 37439316
The biomechanics of chewing and suckling in the infant: A potential mechanism for physiologic metopic suture closure.
The biomechanics of chewing and suckling in the infant: A potential mechanism for physiologic metopic suture closure. PLoS Comput Biol. 2023 06; 19(6):e1011227.
PMID: 37347795
Biomechanical and Cortical Control of Tongue Movements During Chewing and Swallowing.
Biomechanical and Cortical Control of Tongue Movements During Chewing and Swallowing. Dysphagia. 2023 Jun 16.
PMID: 37326668
Robust cortical encoding of 3D tongue shape during feeding in macaques.
Robust cortical encoding of 3D tongue shape during feeding in macaques. Nat Commun. 2023 05 24; 14(1):2991.
PMID: 37225708
Personal autonomy and self-determination are crucial for professionalism in healthcare.
Personal autonomy and self-determination are crucial for professionalism in healthcare. Anat Sci Educ. 2023 Jul-Aug; 16(4):571-573.
PMID: 37014284
Corrigendum to "Biomechanics of the mandible of Macaca mulatta during the power stroke of mastication: Loading, deformation, and strain regimes and the impact of food type" [Journal of Human Evolution 147 (2020) 102865].
Corrigendum to "Biomechanics of the mandible of Macaca mulatta during the power stroke of mastication: Loading, deformation, and strain regimes and the impact of food type" [Journal of Human Evolution 147 (2020) 102865]. J Hum Evol. 2023 Jun; 179:103367.
PMID: 37084622
Sagittal suture strain in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus and Cebus) during feeding.
Sagittal suture strain in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus and Cebus) during feeding. Am J Biol Anthropol. 2023 04; 180(4):633-654.
PMID: 36790169
Does the model reflect the system? When two-dimensional biomechanics is not 'good enough'.
Does the model reflect the system? When two-dimensional biomechanics is not 'good enough'. J R Soc Interface. 2023 01; 20(198):20220536.
PMID: 36695017
Macaca mulatta is a good model for human mandibular fixation research.
Macaca mulatta is a good model for human mandibular fixation research. R Soc Open Sci. 2022 Nov; 9(11):220438.
PMID: 36405636
Suction feeding of West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens): An XROMM analysis of jaw mechanics, cranial kinesis, and hyoid mobility.
Suction feeding of West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens): An XROMM analysis of jaw mechanics, cranial kinesis, and hyoid mobility. Biol Open. 2022 09 15; 11(9).
PMID: 36066131