Bryan Pfister

Bryan Pfister is a Professor and Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering at NJIT. He earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (2002) and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Neurosurgery Department. His research focuses on biomechanics of nervous system injury, particularly traumatic brain injury (TBI) mechanisms from blunt and blast forces. He leads the Center for Injury Biomechanics, Materials and Medicine, New Jersey’s first research center dedicated to nervous system injury and repair. Pfister has secured funding from the Army Research Laboratory, NIH, and the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research. He co-leads an Army grant developing blast injury criteria for TBI models. Recognized with the 2009 Educator of the Year Award, he emphasizes undergraduate research through NSF REU programs and clinical observerships.

His educational background includes a BS in Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management (Clarkson University, 1991) and an MS in Mechanical Engineering (Johns Hopkins, 1998). Key research contributions include in vitro models of TBI, neuronal stretch injury mechanisms, and biomaterials for nerve regeneration. He chairs accreditation efforts for NJIT’s Biomedical Engineering program and pioneered the department’s ABET accreditation in 2006.

Research highlights include:

• Development of shock tube models for blast injury studies
• Characterization of brain deformation in blunt and blast trauma
• Investigation of sex and genotype impacts on TBI outcomes
• Role of microglial inflammation in chronic neurodegeneration

Grants and collaborations include Army-funded projects on blast injury mechanics and NIH-funded studies on axon regeneration. His work bridges biomedical engineering, neuroscience, and clinical translation, emphasizing both basic science and translational applications.