My lab researches the motor control and biomechanics of feeding system. My lab uses electromyography and fluoromicrometry to study feeding muscle function, high speed biplanar videofluoroscopy to study 3d tongue and jaw kinematics, and finite element modelling to study mandible mechanics. We study diverse taxa.
My lab is working on understanding how both the jaw and tongue are moved and controlled during oral behaviors such as drinking, chewing and swallowing.
Dr. Nicho Hatsopoulos and my lab use neural recording techniques to study the role of motor and sensory cortex in control of oral behaviors including chewing and swallowing. We are researching neural encoding of jaw and tongue movements, neuroplasticity associated with learning new oral skills, and the role of bilateral cortical control in tongue movement.
My lab and Dr. Zeray Alemseged are using finite-element models of primate jaws to study mandible design in humans, great apes, and fossil hominids.
Dr. Russell Reid in the Department of Surgery and my lab are working with Dr. Felippe Prado in Brazil on bioengineering of human jaw function during distraction osteogenesis and fracture repair.
Biomechanics and Evolution of the Primate Tongue.
Biomechanics and Evolution of the Primate Tongue. Evol Anthropol. 2026 Jun; 35(2):e70026.
PMID: 41925291
Primate Swallowing Is Powered by Both Rotation and Contraction of Suprahyoid Muscles.
Primate Swallowing Is Powered by Both Rotation and Contraction of Suprahyoid Muscles. Am J Biol Anthropol. 2026 01; 189(1):e70195.
PMID: 41518090
Biomechanics of the mandibular middle ear of the cynodont Thrinaxodon and the evolution of mammal hearing.
Biomechanics of the mandibular middle ear of the cynodont Thrinaxodon and the evolution of mammal hearing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Dec 23; 122(51):e2516082122.
PMID: 41359832
Diverse Tongue Base Retraction Strategies Drive Bolus Propulsion during Mammalian Swallowing.
Diverse Tongue Base Retraction Strategies Drive Bolus Propulsion during Mammalian Swallowing. Integr Comp Biol. 2025 12 05; 65(6):1416-1436.
PMID: 40240300
Comparison of ankle dorsiflexion using XROMM and external angular kinematics in a quadrupedally walking macaque.
Comparison of ankle dorsiflexion using XROMM and external angular kinematics in a quadrupedally walking macaque. J Exp Biol. 2025 Sep 01; 228(17).
PMID: 40761170
Cranial kinematics and prey-type effects in Amia ocellicauda feeding strikes.
Cranial kinematics and prey-type effects in Amia ocellicauda feeding strikes. Proc Biol Sci. 2025 04; 292(2045):20242542.
PMID: 40264349
Bite force production and the origin of Homo.
Bite force production and the origin of Homo. R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Apr; 12(4):241879.
PMID: 40271135
Human body donation programs best practices and recommended standards: A task force report from the American Association for Anatomy.
Human body donation programs best practices and recommended standards: A task force report from the American Association for Anatomy. Anat Sci Educ. 2025 Jan; 18(1):8-26.
PMID: 39690928
The road to best practices in body donation.
The road to best practices in body donation. Anat Sci Educ. 2025 Jan; 18(1):5-7.
PMID: 39690933
Jaw-muscle fiber architecture and skull form facilitate relatively wide jaw gapes in male cercopithecoid monkeys.
Jaw-muscle fiber architecture and skull form facilitate relatively wide jaw gapes in male cercopithecoid monkeys. J Hum Evol. 2024 12; 197:103601.
PMID: 39500178