معرفی
Associate Professor John Costi is a prominent biomechanical engineer at Flinders University's College of Science and Engineering, where he serves as Director of The Flinders Surgical Lab and Director of Studies for Mechanical Engineering. He leads the experimental team of the Biomechanics and Implants Research group within the Medical Device Research Institute and sits on the Board of Directors for the Spine Society of Australia.
- PhD in biomechanics of the intervertebral disc (Flinders University, 2004)
- Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (1991)
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Vermont (2005-2007)
- Elected Fellow of Engineers Australia (2015)
Professor Costi specializes in orthopaedic biomechanics with particular expertise in spine, joint, and soft tissue mechanics. His research focuses on understanding multiscale mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of biological tissues, with significant work on spine disc degeneration, knee ligament reconstruction, and hip implant micromotion. He has pioneered the development of a novel six-degree-of-freedom hexapod robot for biomechanical testing, which has become central to his research program. His laboratory develops innovative experimental techniques for measuring micromechanical properties of soft tissues across multiple scales.
His recent publications demonstrate strong activity in wrist arthroplasty analysis, surgical training model development, and cervical spine mechanics, with a clear trend toward increasingly sophisticated robotic testing methodologies and multiscale tissue characterization. The research output shows consistent collaboration with medical device companies, surgical teams, and international research groups.
- John Stanley Best Free Paper, British Society for Surgery of the Hand (2023)
- Clayton Adam Award for Best ECR Presentation (2021)
- Top Poster Award, Spine Society of Australia (2023)
- Spinal Research Award (2019)
- Best Higher Degree by Research Publication, College of Science and Engineering (2017)
Professor Costi has successfully supervised numerous students, including Dhara Amin and Javad Tavakoli, who have received multiple awards for their research. His funding portfolio includes support from The Repat Foundation, Health and Medical Research Fund, Department of Health (SA Government), and university sources. The Flinders Surgical Lab under his direction enables medical device companies to provide advanced surgical training for surgeons, bridging the gap between engineering innovation and clinical application.
