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 Erin Lucas is a Biomedical Engineer who was recruited to join the Steadman Philippon Research Institute in January, 2011 as a Research Engineer. Erin’s research interests are in all aspects of orthopaedic injury including the mechanisms of injury, injury prevention, and repair and rehabilitation. Erin strongly believes in a multidisciplinary research environment where surgeons, radiologists, physical therapists, clinical researchers, and engineers all collaborate on measures to improve patient care. Erin is currently developing a new clinical tool for detecting early osteoarthritis in close collaboration with the surgeons at the Steadman Clinic, the Steadman Clinic radiologist and director of the imaging department, and researchers and engineers in both the clinical research and biomechanics departments.
Erin obtained her Master of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia within the Orthopaedic Injury Biomechanics Group. Erin worked at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), and her research involved measuring the mechanical deformation of the spinal cord during a spinal cord injury using high-speed fluoroscopy. The application of this work was to improve the basic science understanding of spinal cord injuries from a mechanical standpoint and to improve existing models of the spinal cord used for developing preventative devices such as helmets.
Erin attended Virginia Tech for her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, where she took many courses in biomechanics. Erin’s initial plans were to continue to medical school after her engineering degree, but throughout her degree she became very interested in the engineering side of medicine. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Erin worked as a Design Engineer for Lockheed Martin. Erin was highly involved with the design of various components for US Naval ships as well as with the design and development of a new carbon nanotube composite material. She gained invaluable experience as a mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin as she was involved in the design process from concept to completion. During this time, Erin also volunteered with an organization where she designed components for disabled individuals to help improve their quality of life. This ultimately pulled her back into biomedical engineering. Erin then accepted a research internship at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute in Sydney, Australia where she researched the potential for injury due to the misuse of child restraints. This internship confirmed her desire to pursue orthopaedic injury research and she continued on to graduate school.
Outside of work Erin stays active and enjoys skiing, biking, running, swimming, and backpacking. She loves the outdoorsy lifestyle that Vail offers and is looking forward to exploring the Rocky Mountains.
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