Speakers

Keynote Speakers

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  Associate Professor Richard Souza

  Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of California, San Francisco

  Dr. Richard Souza is a physical therapist, receiving his MPT from Samuel Merritt University in 2001. He received his Ph.D. in Biokinesiology (major field: biomechanics, mentor: Christopher Powers, PT, PhD) from the University of Southern California in 2008. His doctoral dissertation was titled “The Influence of Abnormal Hip Kinematics on Patellofemoral Joint Dysfunction.” This series of studies linked abnormal hip mechanics to patellofemoral pain in young active females using a combination of motion analysis and kinematic MRI. Dr. Souza then took a postdoc position at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging under the mentorship of Sharmila Majumdar, a renowned MR physicist and pioneer in quantitative imaging using MRI and CT. He received an NSBRI (NASA) postdoctoral fellowship to investigate the effects of unloading on cartilage composition using MR relaxation time mapping. This study identified subtle shift in cartilage compositions following non-weight-bearing that have important implications for astronauts and for patients following prolonged weight-bearing restrictions. More importantly, it demonstrated that the effects of changes in loading on cartilage could be quantified using these advanced MRI techniques. In 2010 Dr. Souza joined the faculty in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at UCSF. His research interests are focused on the relationships between mechanics of human movement and lower extremity injuries. Much of his research combines advanced quantitative MR imaging and the evaluation of physical activity and loading behaviors. The goal of these studies is to determine the influence of loading mechanics on hip, knee, and ankle health and to develop preventative and rehabilitative strategies for debilitating diseases such as osteoarthritis. These research projects are primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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  Associate Professor Thor Besier

  Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland

  Thor is an Associate Professor at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and has a joint appointment with the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Auckland. He completed his PhD in musculoskeletal biomechanics at The University of Western Australia in 2000 and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Bioengineering Department at Stanford University from 2003 to 2006. Thor established Stanford’s Human Performance Laboratory as the Director of Research and was a faculty member in the Department of Orthopaedics at Stanford from 2006 to 2010, before returning home to New Zealand in 2011.

  Thor’s research combines medical imaging with computational modelling to understand mechanisms of musculoskeletal injury and disease. In particular, he is interested in the mechanical aetiology of patellofemoral pain and osteoarthritis and novel technologies to diagnose and treat these disorders. He has published more than 80 scientific articles on these topics and currently receives funding from the NZ Marsden Fund, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the Australian Research Council and the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council.