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Alejandro A. Espinoza Orías, PhD

Director, Orthopedic Surgery 3-D Printing Laboratory
Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, RUSH Medical College
Assistant Director, Spine Biomechanics Laboratory
Education

Postdoctoral fellowship, McKay Orthopaedic Research Lab, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 2007
PhD, aerospace and mechanical engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2005
MSc, mechanical engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2003
BSc (Licentiate), mechanical engineering, Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolivia, 1999

Research Areas

The Spine Biomechanics Laboratory at Rush is dedicated primarily to the study of the motion and loading conditions of the human spine. Both cervical and lumbar spine are recurrent work topics as we develop new methodologies to link abnormal motion patterns and loads that are thought to be precursors for facet joints and intervertebral disc degeneration.

Our approach is based on a unique combination of novel musculoskeletal image data processing methods, human motion analysis and experimental biomechanics. The techniques and instrumentation developed in the laboratory have been applied successfully to both to research as well as implant testing studies.

Our expertise with the spine has also lead to studies in other joints such as the hip, knee and shoulder. Our collaborations with clinician researchers from Midwest Orthopedics at Rush have led us to develop experiments to assess joint instability and cartilage qualitative studies in vitro.

This leads into another major area of work which is the study of hip biomechanics in Femoroacetabular Impingement. This bony deformity is not well characterized and we are working on developing structure-function relationships both at the organ and subject level.

We are pioneering the use of 3-D printing (also called additive manufacturing) in an academic medical center not only for anatomical models but to create functional models to be used in biomechanics research.

Contact Info:

1611 W. Harrison St.
Suite 204
Chicago, IL 60612
Links:
Biography

Alejandro A. Espinoza Orias, PhD, received a licentiate degree in mechanical engineering degree from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres (La Paz, Bolivia) in addition to master’s and doctoral degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana). He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship in spine biomechanics at the McKay orthopedic research laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). He is an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center (Chicago). His research interests include joint biomechanics, the study of structure-function relationships in orthopedic materials and tissues and applications of 3-D printing in orthopedics.

Espinoza Orias is an active member of the Orthopaedic Research Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Testing and Materials International, and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, He conducts peer review on many orthopedic and biomechanics journals and is on the editorial board of PLoS One.

Honors and Activities
  • Academic Editor and Member of the Editorial Board, PLoS One, 2016-Present 
  • Peer Reviewer, Spine, Journal of Orthopedic Research, Cell and Tissue Banking, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 2015-Present 
  • Co-Chair, Annual Rush Research Forum Organizing Committee, 2015-Present
  • Peer Reviewer, Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 2014-Present 
  • Invited Speaker, Seventh World Biomechanics Congress, Boston, 2014 
  • Chair, Minisymposium on Biomechanics of Human Joints, IEEE-EMBS Annual Meeting, Chicago, 2014
  • Co-Advisor and Co-Author, Second Place Poster Award in Biomechanics and Imaging, Nojiri H, Espinoza Orias AA, An HS, Andersson GBJ, Inoue N, Torsional Biomechanics of Lumbar Segmental Motion in Cases of Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae, Second International Philadelphia Spine Research Symposium, 2013 
  • Peer Reviewer, Combined Orthopedic Research Society Meeting San Servolo, Venice, Italy, 2013
  • Peer Reviewer, PLoS-One, Clinical Biomechanics, Journal of Applied Biomaterials and Functional Materials, Journal of Biomechanics, 2013-Present 
  • Peer Reviewer, Bone, ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Binational Knowledge R&D Networked Joint Center Proposals, 2012-Present 
  • Advisor to Ms. Loren Kim, Finalist Undergraduate Student Competition, Paper: Non-Contact Experimental Assessment of Spinal Facet Joint Cartilage Dehydration, ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, 2012
  • Peer Reviewer, Medical Engineering and Physics, 2011-Present 
  • President, Rush University Chapter of Sigma Xi (Elected to Two One-Year Terms), 2011-13
  • Reviewer, American Society of Biomechanics Annual Meeting, 2010-12 
  • Grant Reviewer, AO Spine — AO Research Review Commission, Switzerland, 2010-12 
  • Co-Advisor and Co-Author, Second Place Resident/Fellow Research Award Paper, Cervical Spine Research Award, 2010 
  • Paper: Biomechanical Comparison of Occiput-C1-C2 Fixation Techniques: C0-C1 Transarticular Screw and Direct Occipital Condyle Screw, Cervical Spine Research Society Annual Meeting. Charlotte, NC, 2010 
  • Session Chair in Spine Biomechanics, ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference, 2010 
  • Reviewer, ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference, 2009-Present 
  • Reviewer, Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting, 2009-Present 
  • Peer Reviewer, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2009-Present 
  • Member, Solid Mechanics Committee, ASME Division of Bioengineering, 2008-Present 
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Notre Dame Kaneb Center For Teaching and Learning, 2005 
  • Co-Chair, 18th Annual Graduate Student Conference, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Notre Dame, IN, 2004 
  • Graduate Studies and Research Fellowship, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2001 
Publications

ORCID: 0000-0002-3792-515X

Dr. Espinoza Orías’ full publications list.

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. Louie PK, Espinoza Orías AA, Fogg LF, LaBelle M, An HS, Andersson GBJ, Inoue N. Changes in lumbar endplate area and concavity associated with disc degeneration. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2018 Mar 27. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Yang SH, Espinoza Orías AA, Pan CC, Senoo I, Andersson GBJ, An HS, Inoue N. Spatial geometric and magnetic resonance signal intensity changes with advancing stages of nucleus pulposus degeneration. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 21;18(1):473. 2017
  3. Basques BA, Espinoza Orías AA, Shifflett GD, Fice MP, Andersson GB, An HS, Inoue N. The kinematics and spondylosis of the lumbar spine vary depending on the levels of motion segments in individuals with low back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2016 Nov 9. [Epub ahead of print]
  4. Espinoza Orías AA, Mammoser NM, Triano JJ, An HS, Andersson GB, Inoue N. Effects of axial torsion on disc height distribution: an in vivo study. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 39:294-303. 2016
  5. Simon P, Espinoza Orías AA, Andersson GB, An HS, Inoue N. In vivo topographic analysis of lumbar facet joint space width distribution in healthy and symptomatic subjects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 37:1058-64. 2012
Grants

NIH NCCIH 1R01AT006692, PI: Inoue, Novel Analytical Tools for 3 Dimensional Imaging Studies on Spinal Manipulation
The study will provide powerful biomechanics-based tools for clinical studies to investigate the effectiveness of the spinal manipulation therapy.