Trevor Lujan

Bio

Dr. Trevor J. Lujan, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, joined Boise State University in January 2012. Dr. Lujan serves as an Adjunct Professor in Material Science and Engineering, and is the director of the Northwest Tissue Mechanics Laboratory.

Goals

The fundamental mission of Dr. Lujan’s work is to improve the general well-being of individuals and societies. In research, Dr. Lujan is working to accomplish this goal by investigating significant problems in musculoskeletal health, and developing solutions that are effective and practical. In education, Dr. Lujan is committed to developing innovative teaching tools that make difficult engineering concepts more accessible to students with diverse learning styles.

Background

As a graduate student at University of Utah, Dr. Lujan researched knee biomechanics in the Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory. This research applied computational and experimental methods to investigate the molecular origins of ligament mechanical properties. After graduation, Dr. Lujan joined the Legacy Biomechanics Laboratory in Portland, Oregon, where he spent four years leading research projects related to fracture healing, cartilage engineering and traumatic brain injury.

Prior to completing his doctoral degree, Dr. Lujan worked as a technical consultant at Accenture in San Francisco and then spent nearly three years travelling abroad. Substantial time was spent in South America, Southeast Asia and Oceania. In New Zealand, Dr. Lujan spent six months at the University of Canterbury as a research assistant on a project aimed at optimizing rowing performance in Olympic athletes.

Courses Taught

• ME 303 Solid Mechanics II
• ME 356 Introduction to Solid Biomechanics
• ME 479 Undergraduate Research

Education

• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, May 1998, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Ph.D., Bioengineering, Dec. 2007, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

Research

Core Mission

Dr. Lujan directs the Northwest Tissue Mechanics (NTM) Laboratory (lab website available Fall 2012). The primary focus of the NTM lab is to improve the clinical care of musculoskeletal disease by investigating the effect of mechanical loading on connective-tissue physiology, pathology and restoration. This research incorporates the fields of biomechanics, imaging, biochemistry and mechanobiology.

The scientific field of mechanobiology originated with the observation that living systems adapt to their physical environment by altering their structural framework. This fundamental theory was first proposed by Wilhelm Roux in the 1880s to describe the functional adaption of bone to mechanical loading. In the past two-decades, technological advancements have enabled validation of many mechanobiological hypotheses and have helped determine the specific loading conditions and biological mechanisms that activate microstructural transformations. These findings have been instrumental to the emergence of novel bone fracture treatments. However, the role of mechanical signals in regulating soft-tissue repair and remodeling is poorly understood. This lack of knowledge has limited the availability of effective therapeutic options for pathologies that frequently develop in fibrous load-bearing tissues (e.g. ligament, tendon, meniscus). Moreover, the failure mechanisms responsible for many musculoskeletal disorders remain unknown, thus limiting our capacity to predict and prevent injury. The NTM lab is dedicated to advancing the field of mechanobiology and developing novel therapies for connective-tissue pathologies that are effective and economical.

Philosophy

The general research philosophy of Dr. Lujan is to 1) formulate question-driven proposals that address pressing clinical problems, 2) conduct rigorous research that prioritizes the scientific method and 3) transfer scientific discoveries into commercial tools that directly advance medicine and patient care. To achieve evidence-based solutions, the NTM laboratory utilizes multidisciplinary techniques that involve experimental and computational methods. This research strategy enables complex questions to be addressed that otherwise could not be answered.

Projects

Dr. Lujan supervises multiple projects that address relevant clinical challenges.

• Cartilage Engineering. Dr. Lujan is the Principal Investigator on an NIH small business technology transfer grant (STTR). This grant’s objective is to develop a bioreactor that facilitates the rapid discovery of mechanical conditions to promote the synthesis of functional cartilage. This work is now advancing to Phase II, where the bioreactor will be refined and validated prior to product commercialization. This novel tool has strong potential to enhance the scientific understanding of cartilage mechanobiology and foster the timely transfer of tissue engineering technology to people afflicted with acute and chronic cartilage degeneration.
• Mechanobiology of Ligament Repair. Ligament injuries often result in short and long-term disability due to the mechanical inferiority of the healed tissue. Mechanical stimulation via manual therapy can increase collagen production and improve the speed and quality of ligament repair, yet little is understood about the specific loading protocols that are beneficial or detrimental. This project will use experimental and computational methods to clarify the benefits of manual therapy for ligament healing and a remodeling constitutive model will be developed to provide guidelines for effective administration of this economical treatment modality.
• Pathomechanics of Meniscus Injuries. Acute meniscal tears have poor healing outcomes and account for ~15% of all surgeries at U.S. orthopaedic centers. Although extensive studies have determined that meniscus tears lead to osteoarthritis, the underlying pathomechanics of meniscus failure has not been described. Gaining a mechanistic understanding of the failure risk associated with loading conditions, joint morphology and microstructure will aid the development of treatment and prevention methods. The primary aim of this research is to develop and validate a failure model that predicts meniscus tears. The conclusions of this research will provide the foundation for future work in modeling treatment paradigms and determining biophysical factors that predispose individuals to meniscal tears

Refereed Journal Articles (*corresponding author)

• Bahney CS, Lujan TJ, Hsu CW, Bottlang M, West JL, *Johnstone B. Visible light photoinitiation of mesenchymal stem cell-laden bioresponsive hydrogels. European Cells and Matrix. 2011 Jul 15, 22:43-55.
• *Lujan TJ, Wirtz, Madey SM, Bottlang M. A novel bioreactor for the dynamic stimulation and mechanical evaluation of multiple tissue engineered constructs. Tissue Engineering Part C Methods. 2011 Mar, 17(3):367-74
• Henderson CE, Lujan TJ, Bottlang M, Fitzpatrick DC, *Marsh JL: Healing of Distal Femur Fractures Treated with Locked Plates. Accepted Nov. 2010, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2011 Jun, 469(6):1757-65. Epub 2011 Mar 22.
• *Lujan TJ, Madey SM, Fitzpatrick DC, Byrd GD, Sanderson JM, Bottlang M: A Computational Technique to Measure Fracture Callus in Radiographs. Journal of Biomechanics, 43(4):792-5, 2010.
• *Bottlang M., Doornink J, Lujan TJ, Fitzpatrick DC, Marsh JL, Augat P, Rechenberg B, Lesser M, Madey SM. Effects of Construct Stiffness on Healing of Fractures Stabilized with Locking Plates. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (Am), Dec, 92 Suppl 2:12-22, 2010.
• Lujan TJ, Henderson CE, Madey SM, Fitzpatrick DC, Marsh JL, *Bottlang M: Locked Plating of Distal Femur Fractures Leads to Inconsistent and Asymmetrical Callus Formation: Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 24(3):156-62, 2010.
• Henderson CE, Lujan TJ, Bottlang M, Fitzpatrick DC, *Marsh JL: Stabilization of distal femur fractures with IM nails and locking plates: differences in callus formation. Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, 30:61-8, 2010.
• Lujan TJ, Underwood CJ, Jacobs N, *Weiss JA: Contribution of glycosaminoglycans to viscoelastic tensile behavior of human ligament. Journal of Applied Physiology 106(2): 423-31, 2009.
• Lujan TJ, Dalton MS, Thompson BM, Ellis BJ, *Weiss JA: Effect of ACL Deficiency on MCL strains and joint kinematics. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 129(3):386-92, 2007.
• Lujan TJ, Underwood CJ, Henninger HB, Thompson BM, *Weiss JA: Effect of dermatan sulfate glycosaminoglycans on the quasi-static material properties of the human medial collateral ligament. Journal of Orthopaedic Research 25(7):894-903, 2007.
• Ellis BJ, Lujan TJ, Dalton MS, *Weiss JA: MCL insertion site and contact forces in the ACL-Deficient knee. Journal of Orthopaedic Research 24(4):800-810, 2006.
• *Weiss JA, Gardiner JC, Ellis BJ, Lujan TJ, Phatak NS: Three-dimensional finite element modeling of ligaments: Technical aspects. Medical Engineering and Physics 27(10):845-61, 2005.
• Lujan TJ, Lake SP, Plaizier TA, Ellis BJ, *Weiss JA: Simultaneous measurement of three-dimensional joint kinematics and tissue strains with optical methods. ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 127:193-197, 2005.

Dissertation

Lujan TJ, Multiscale Relationships in Ligament Mechanics. PhD Dissertation, University of Utah, Dec. 2007.