Jeff Nyman, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Vanderbilt University
Seminar Information

While aging and estrogen deficiency following menopause are major contributors to the occurrence of osteoporosis and an increase in fracture risk, other chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension also favor bone fragility. Moreover, a loss in bone mass does not solely explain age- and disease-related increase in fracture risk suggesting that deleterious changes within extracellular matrix of bone contribute to bone fragility. Dr. Nyman will describe different matrix-sensitive laboratory techniques and how they relate to the fracture resistance of bone. These techniques include 1H nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry, Raman spectroscopy, quantitative computed tomography-based finite element analysis, and micro-indentation, all which can be clinically implemented to improve the assessment of a patient’s fracture risk.
Dr. Jeff Nyman is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. In earning a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis (2003), he investigated how bone adapts to orthopaedic implants and osteoporosis treatments from a mechanobiology perspective using computational models that simulates bone remodeling. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at The University of Texas at San Antonio identifying determinants of bone toughness, he moved to Nashville in 2006 and helped launch the Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology (VCBB). In collaboration with molecular biologists at VCBB, Dr. Nyman’s research involves preclinical models of bone disease as well as translational studies of cadaveric bone. Becoming the Director of VCBB in 2022, Dr. Nyman leads a group of investigators whose research aims to develop new treatment strategies and diagnostic tools that can improve the quality of life for patients with compromised musculoskeletal tissues due to aging, trauma, infection, cancer, and chronic diseases. Lastly, he is a handling editor of the journal Bone.