As for many others, pandemic-related restrictions affected our research plans. Even so, the lab had an exciting and productive year. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Patrick Hall, a PhD candidate, had two papers published in peer-reviewed journals. One paper showed the effects of anti-gravity assistance on shoulder biomechanics. Another paper presented the outcomes of in vivo surgeries to test completely implantable limb prostheses.
2. Morteza Asgari, another PhD candidate, published a peer-reviewed conference paper on the design of a wearable spring-powered shoulder exoskeleton.
3. Several students had abstracts accepted for presentations at professional meetings. Patrick Hall, Caleb Stubbs, and Morteza Asgari presented posters at the American Society of Biomechanics virtual meeting. Jessica Pierce, an undergraduate student in the lab, presented a poster at the Biomedical Engineering Society virtual meeting.
4. PI Dustin Crouch was awarded the NSF CAREER Award, which provides funding to establish research, education, and outreach programs in the lab.
5. The lab received an NIH grant (with Dr. Crouch as PI) to test the feasibility of our novel concept of a completely implantable limb prosthesis that can be physically attached to and actuated by muscles.

These accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without our great team of collaborators at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and the UT Medical Center. The University of Tennessee really is a great place to work. We look forward to another great year for the lab in 2021!