Kristin M. Myers
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Kristin M. Myers’ solid mechanics research program studies the biomechanics of biological soft tissues with a specific focus on the female reproductive system and pregnancy. Her Columbia research group is one of only a few engineering teams in the world creating biomechanical models of pregnancy to uncover structural mechanisms of preterm birth.
Myers builds computational models of the pregnant anatomy to quantify the amount of mechanical loading on the soft tissue structures supporting the fetus. These models are based on rigorous mechanical tests of soft tissues conducted in her lab to establish the mathematical relationship between the tissue’s biological building blocks, its mechanical stiffness, and its remodeling behavior. Working with Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists at Columbia University Medical Center, the team is working to identify mechanical risk factors in pregnancy and to develop precise clinical interventions to eliminate those risks.
Recent projects from Myers’s research group include ultrasound-based finite element models of pregnancy, mechanical characterization of cervical and uterine tissue remodeling, hormone-mediated tissue growth and remodeling, mechanical characterization of preterm birth models of pregnancy, and mechanical properties of uterine fibroids.
Myers received a BS in mechanical engineering in 2002 from the University of Michigan, an MS in 2005, and a PhD in 2008 in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She joined the faculty of Columbia Engineering in 2010 and, in 2017, received the ASME Y.C. Fung Young Investigators Award. In 2019, Myers was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House for her work in understanding tissue growth and remodeling in pregnancy. ). Her work has also been featured widely in the media, notably a cover article on the science of pregnancy for the MIT alumni magazine MIT News (2019), a radio interview on cervical health for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition (2019), an episode on childbirth for Netflix and Vox’s Sex Explained (2019), and an article on digital health in The Guardian (2023).
Research Areas
- Women's Health
- Maternal Health
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanics
- Biological Modeling
- Biomechanics
- Human-Centered Design
- Mechanobiology
Additional Information
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Professional Experience
- Associate professor of mechanical engineering, Columbia University, 2015–
- Assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Columbia University, 2010–2015
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Professional Affiliations
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- Society of Reproductive Investigators
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Honors & Awards
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House, 2019
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers Y.C. Fung Young Investigators Award, 2017
- National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, 2015
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Education
- PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institue of Technology
- MS, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institue of Technology
- BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan