Kristin M. Myers

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

234 S.W. Mudd
Mail Code 4703

Tel(212) 854-2957
Fax(212) 854-3304

Kristin M. Myers’ solid mechanics research program studies the biomechanics of biological soft tissues with a specific focus on the female reproductive system and pregnancy. Her Columbia research group is one of only a few engineering teams in the world creating biomechanical models of pregnancy to uncover structural mechanisms of preterm birth. 

Research Interests

Experimental and theoretical mechanics of soft biological tissue, finite element modeling of pregnancy, mechanics of tissue growth and remodeling, development of clinical risk-stratification based on mechanical threshold biomarkers for preterm birth,, precise clinical intervention development for preterm birth.

Myers builds computational models of the pregnant anatomy to quantify the amount of mechanical loading on the soft tissue structures supporting the fetus. These models are based on rigorous mechanical tests of soft tissues conducted in her lab to establish the mathematical relationship between the tissue’s biological building blocks, its mechanical stiffness, and its remodeling behavior. Working with Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists at Columbia University Medical Center, the team is working to identify mechanical risk factors in pregnancy and to develop precise clinical interventions to eliminate those risks.

Recent projects from Myers’s research group include: ultrasound-based finite element models of pregnancy, mechanical characterization of cervical and uterine tissue remodeling, hormone-mediated tissue growth and remodeling, and mechanical characterization of preterm birth models of pregnancy

Myers received a BS in mechanical engineering in 2002 from the University of Michigan and an MS in 2005 and a PhD in 2008 in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She joined the faculty of Columbia Engineering in 2010 and in 2017 received the ASME Y.C. Fung Young Investigators Award. 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

  • Research associate, Johns Hopkins University, 2008–2010

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • Associate professor of mechanical engineering, Columbia University, 2015–
  • Assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Columbia University, 2010–2015

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • Society of Experimental Mechanics
  • Society of Reproductive Investigators

HONORS & AWARDS

  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers Y.C. Fung Young Investigators Award, 2017
  • National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, 2015

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

  • Kyoko Yoshida, Hongfeng Jiang, Joy Vink, Ronald Wapner, Serge Cremers, Mala Mahendroo, and Kristin Myers. Measurements of divalent and trivalent cervical collagen crosslinks with gestation in mice. PLoS ONE, 9(11):e112391, 2014
  • Kristin Myers, Helen Feltovich, Edoardo Mazza, Joy Vink, Michael Bajka, Ronald Wapner, Tim Hall, and Michael House. The mechanical role of the cervix in pregnancy. Journal of Biomechanics, 48(9):1511–1523, June 2015
  • Kristin Myers, Christine Hendon, Yu Gan, Wang Yao, Kyoko Yoshida, Michael Fernandez, Joy Vink, and Ronald Wapner. A continuous fiber distribution material model for human cervical tissue. Journal of Biomechanics, 48(9):1533–1540, June 2015.
  • Michael Fernandez, Michael House, Sachin Jambawalikar, Noelia Zork, Joy Vink, Ronald Wapner, and Kristin Myers. Investigating the mechanical function of the cervix during pregnancy using finite element models derived from high-resolution 3D MRI. Computer Methods Biomechanics Biomedical Engineering, 19(4):404–417, 2016.
  • Kyoko Yoshida, Mala Mahendroo, Joy Vink, RonaldWapner, and Kristin Myers. Material properties of mouse cervical tissue in normal gestation. Acta Biomaterialia, 36:195–209, May 2016.
  • Andrea Westervelt, Michael Fernandez, Michael House, Joy Vink, Chia-Ling Nhan-Chang, Ronald Wapner, and Kristin Myers. A parameterized ultrasound-based finite element analysis of the mechanical environment of pregnancy. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 139(5), May 2017.