I am a mechanical engineer and bioengineer. My laboratory studies interactions between microbes, musculoskeletal tissues and materials. We are currently studying the effects of the gut microbiome on the musculoskeletal system and the success of orthopaedic surgery. Additionally we are studying mechanobiology of bacteria and advancing the new field of Engineered Living Materials.

Mechanical loads manifest into strains within tissues and interfaces of an organ. Strains within tissues are transduced by the cells to produce the needed extracellular matrix proteins to meet functional demands. This is the general philosophy of research in my laboratory which is within the Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering. Our lab has a strong focus on mechanics, materials, and investigating adaptation of tissues/interfaces through spatiotemporal mapping of “mechano-responsiveness”.

Infectious disease physician-scientist with a focused on unbiased diagnostics and developing treatments for uncommon infections.

My Research Interests are divided into 3 areas of focus:

1. Supportive Care (especially Invasive Fungal Infections) following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
2. Transplantation for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency
3. Transplantation for Rare Leukemias (JMML and APL)

Kelsey H. Collins, PhD completed her undergraduate work in Exercise Biology at University of California, Davis, and earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at University of Calgary under the direction of Dr. Walter Herzog. During her postdoctoral studies in the Guilak Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis, she created a tissue engineering and regenerative medicine platform to determine the signaling mechanisms between adipose and musculoskeletal tissues.