THE GAFFNEY LABORATORY

Welcome to the Gaffney Lab

The Gaffney Lab is an interdisciplinary research group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver and the Center for Bioengineering on the Anschutz Medical Campus that focuses on musculoskeletal biomechanics.

We aim to utilize a combination of tools including in-vivo biomechanics, musculoskeletal modeling, and medical imaging to better quantify the mechanistic factors to overuse injuries in the presence of movement pathology. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the underlying factors of pathologic movement patterns, muscle, and bone/joint loading in patients with lower extremity movement pathologies, including lower limb amputation. To increase the translation of our research, we regularly collaborate with a highly interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians (orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists, prosthetists, bioengineers, radiologists, computer scientists, and statisticians). Our overall goal of our research is to better improve the mechanistic understanding of secondary pain conditions, which can therefore be used to improve the overall clinical diagnostics and efficacy of interventions designed to prevent overuse injuries.