Tess joined the OT&B lab in January 2019 during the last year of her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Victoria. As a volunteer, she worked on generating 3D bone models from computed tomography (CT) scans & meshing those models in preparation for FEA. Tess is a BC Graduate Scholarship and NSERC CGSD  awardee now pursuing her PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria under the supervision of Prof. Giles. In her thesis research, Tess utilizes patient-oriented research and user-centered design principles to investigate differences in male and female lower limb amputees for the consideration of prosthesis design optimization using Musculoskeletal modelling. In her spare time, she enjoys long-distance running and gardening.

Erik has an Industrial Instrumentation Diploma from SAIT (2012-2014, Calgary, Alberta), and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from UVic (2017-2019) where he specialized in mechatronics. His interdisciplinary background includes five years of experience in technical engineering roles within the oil and gas, mining, and defence sectors.

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Erik joined the OT&B lab while completing his Honour’s Thesis where he developed software to facilitate the design of personalized surgical instruments for shoulder replacement surgery using concepts from robotics. He is currently completing a Master’s of Applied Science (MASc) in Electrical and Computer Engineering where his research focuses on applying biomedical image processing, mechanical design principles, and real-time engineering optimization methods to improve pre-operative planning for orthopaedic surgery. ResearchGate, LinkedIn. Photo by Jena Bjola Photography

Aren first joined the OT&B lab as a co-op student in 2021 during the last year of their Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering at UVic. Aren worked on developing a method to create synthetic computed tomography (CT) scans from volumetric meshes. Shortly after graduating, Aren returned to the OT&B lab to pursue a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and continue the work started in their co-op. Aren's research focuses on integrating statistical models of bones with Finite Element (FE) methods to investigate research questions regarding the Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty (RSA) surgery, with the goal of being able to generalize the results. Aren also conducts in-vitro biomechanical experiments to validate their bespoke computational methods. Outside of research Aren enjoys travelling, reading, carving, and storytelling in various forms. Photo by Oliver Choquette.

Yassine has a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biomedical Science from the University of Ottawa (Ontario) and a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Windsor (Ontario). His technical background includes work in mechanical design, custom automation, and R&D in the automotive industry. After working on automotive sensors and actuators, Yassine joined the OT&B lab in January 2022 to complete a Master’s of Applied Science (MASc) in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria. His research focuses on upper limb rehabilitation testing. Under the supervision of Dr. Giles and Dr. Berger, he is designing and developing a portable dynamometer to assess patients with upper limb injuries. In his spare time, Yassine enjoys rock-climbing, snowboarding, cycling and hiking. He is also a 3d printing and robotics enthusiast. Photo by Valerie Miles.

Kaitlyn is a Master of Applied Science student as of September 2022, following her graduation from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering. During her undergraduate studies, she completed an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award funded project related to the analytical modelling of high precision mechatronic systems. In the OT&B lab, Kaitlyn’s research focuses on the computational modelling of shoulder replacement surgeries to allow for analysis of the changed biomechanics, specifically through developing subject specific models using medical imaging and experimental motion capture. When Kaitlyn is not working or studying, her interests include cooking, the outdoors, and playing sports.