Caitlyn Collins

Caitlyn Collins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering. Her research focuses on integrating non-invasive imaging with experimental and computational mechanics to develop clinical tools for monitoring bone integrity and fracture risk. She leads the Collins Lab, which specializes in hard tissue biomechanics and computational mechanobiology.

Education: Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2016 and 2012), B.S. in Biomedical Engineering (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011).

Research interests include bone mechanobiology, medical imaging integration, personalized tissue engineering, and machine learning applications in biomechanics. Her lab collaborates on projects such as histotripsy effects on osteosarcoma-affected bone and spinal fusion analysis using fractal geometry techniques.

Awards include the 2023 iTHRIV Scholar and 2021 ASBMR FIRST Award. She has mentored graduate students (e.g., Preeya Achari, Lizzie Hunt) and undergraduates (e.g., Chloe Kamminga, Ella Tomko) in biomechanical research. Her work is supported by grants from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Whitaker Program.

Lab activities involve studying bone surrogate materials, fracture healing, and computational modeling. The lab also addresses clinical challenges like distal tibia fractures and breast cancer metastasis using 3D-printed bone models.