Spencer Lake

Spencer Lake is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), part of the McKelvey School of Engineering. He leads the Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Lab, focusing on soft tissue biomechanics with applications in orthopedic tissues like tendon and ligament. His work integrates experimental and computational methods to study tissue properties and structure-function relationships.

• Education: PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania (2009), BS in Bioengineering from the University of Utah (2003).
• Research Focus: Musculoskeletal soft tissue mechanics, regenerative engineering, and imaging science in medicine.

His lab investigates healthy and diseased orthopedic tissues to guide clinical treatments. Notable achievements include a $2.4M grant (2024) for studying post-traumatic joint contractures and election as a Fellow of ASME (2021) for engineering excellence.

Labs & Teams: Director of the Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Lab in Whitaker Hall, collaborating on multiscale tissue analysis and clinical translation.