Van der Meulen’s research focuses on the mechanics of bone tissue and the functional adaptation of the skeleton. The skeleton is a load-bearing structure, not unlike man-made structures like buildings and bridges. Osteoporotic fractures occur when this load-bearing function fails and are similar to other structural failures. However, unlike metals and other inert materials, bone tissue is a living organ composed of cells in mineralized matrix. These cells create the tissue and enable the structure to respond to a variety of genetic and environmental (epigenetic) factors. One of the primary epigenetic regulatory factors is the mechanical environment, the stresses and strains to which the tissues and cells are subjected during daily activities. Hence, this area falls within mechanical engineering and requires students with a strong mechanics background.

Traditionally, biomechanics has focused on characterizing the material and structural properties of living tissues, both in their healthy and diseased states. This approach is primarily one using the methods of solid mechanics and is relevant to understanding the load-bearing ability of tissues and to assessing engineered replacements. However, biomechanics has traditionally not taken into account that these living tissues themselves respond to applied forces and displacements, producing a skeletal structure adapted to and shaped by dynamic mechanical stimuli. Adaptive changes with aging also contribute to the structural deficits that result in osteoporotic fractures. This new area has been termed “mechanobiology” to emphasize the modulation of biological processes by mechanical stimuli.

Research in van der Meulen’s laboratory spans both skeletal mechanobiology and bone biomechanics. Her mechanobiology studies have transitioned from cortical (dense) bone to also include cancellous (lattice-like) bone functional adaptation. Using a newly developed model of in vivo loading of the mouse tibia, the role of aging and estrogen-status on bone adaptation to loading is being examined. On the biomechanics side, characterization work focuses on understanding how tissue properties contribute to osteoporotic fractures and skeletal fragility. In particular nanoindentation is being used to measure tissue level mechanical behavior that can be correlated with the mineral and collagen microstructure.

Her work is performed on Cornell University’s Ithaca campus and at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), where she is an Associate Scientist in the Research Division. Currently her research is funded by the National Institute of Aging and the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. Collaborators at Cornell include Shefford Baker, Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, Anthony Ingraffea, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Rebecca Williams, Senior Research Associate in Biomedical Engineering. External collaborators include Adele Boskey, Starr Chair of Mineralized Tissues Research at HSS, Mathias Bostrom, Associate Attending on the Arthroplasty Service at HSS, Ruth Globus, NASA Ames Research Center, Joseph Lane, Chief of the Metabolic Bone Service at HSS, Mitchell Schaffler, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, and Timothy Wright, Kirby Chair of Orthopaedic Biomechanics at HSS.