Spencer Szczesny

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Spencer Szczesny

Research Summary

Mechanobiology focusing on how mechanical stimuli influence tendon cell behavior in their native microenvironment with the ultimate goal of understanding tendon pathology and identifying novel therapeutic options.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Effect of Education About Inequality and Implicit Bias Within Undergraduate and Graduate Curricula on Women’s Perception and Career Interest in Biomedical Engineering

Spencer Szczesny, Alyssa Salazar, 2025, Biomedical Engineering Education

Allograft and autograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions exhibit a similar biological response to cyclic loading

Lauren Paschall, Ariane Tsai, E Tabdanov, K Negrini, J Izer, A Dhawan, Spencer Szczesny, 2025, Connective Tissue Research on p. 37-48

Structural determinants of tendon multiscale mechanics and their sensitivity to mechanical stimulation during development in an embryonic chick model

Benjamin E. Peterson, Maria L. Canonicco Castro, Helen O. McCarthy, Niamh Buckley, Nicholas Dunne, Rebecca A. Rolfe, Paula Murphy, Spencer E. Szczesny, 2024, Acta Biomaterialia on p. 303-316

Embryo movement is required for limb tendon maturation

Rebecca A. Rolfe, Ebru Talak Bastürkmen, Lauren Sliney, Grace Hayden, Nicholas Dunne, Niamh Buckley, Helen McCarthy, Spencer E. Szczesny, Paula Murphy, 2024, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

Incorporating an Education Module on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Undergraduate and Graduate Curricula Has No Positive Effect on Women's Perception of Biomedical Engineering

Spencer Szczesny, Alyssa Salazar, Ann Cameron Casasanta, 2023, ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings

Mouse Achilles tendons exhibit collagen disorganization but minimal collagen denaturation during cyclic loading to failure

Krishna Pedaprolu, Spencer E. Szczesny, 2023, Journal of Biomechanics

Mouse Achilles Tendons are Resistant to Collagen Denaturation during Cyclic and Monotonic Loading to Failure

Krishna Pedaprolu, Spencer Szczesny, 2023, Journal of Biomechanics

Measuring Local Tissue Strains in Tendons via Open-Source Digital Image Correlation

Stanton Godshall, Krishna Pedaprolu, Erica Vasti, Faezeh Eskandari, Spencer E. Szczesny, 2023, Journal of Visualized Experiments

Tendon cell and tissue culture: Perspectives and recommendations

Spencer E. Szczesny, David T. Corr, 2023, Journal of Orthopaedic Research

Nanoparticle-Decorated Biomimetic Extracellular Matrix for Cell Nanoencapsulation and Regulation

Kyungsene Lee, Brandon Davis, Xuelin Wang, Shubham Mirg, Connie Wen, Lidya Abune, Benjamin E. Peterson, Li Han, Haoyang Chen, Hongjun Wang, Spencer E. Szczesny, Yuguo Lei, Sri Rajasekhar Kothapalli, Yong Wang, 2023, Angewandte Chemie - International Edition on p. e202306583

Most-Cited Papers

Matching material and cellular timescales maximizes cell spreading on viscoelastic substrates

Ze Gong, Spencer E. Szczesny, Steven R. Caliari, Elisabeth E. Charrier, Ovijit Chaudhuri, Xuan Cao, Yuan Lin, Robert L. Mauck, Paul A. Janmey, Jason A. Burdick, Vivek B. Shenoy, 2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. E2686-E2695

Cross-Linking Chemistry of Tyramine-Modified Hyaluronan Hydrogels Alters Mesenchymal Stem Cell Early Attachment and Behavior

Claudia Loebel, Spencer E. Szczesny, Brian D. Cosgrove, Mauro Alini, Marcy Zenobi-Wong, Robert L. Mauck, David Eglin, 2017, Biomacromolecules on p. 855-864

Quantification of interfibrillar shear stress in aligned soft collagenous tissues via notch tension testing

Spencer E. Szczesny, Jeffrey L. Caplan, Pal Pedersen, Dawn M. Elliott, 2015, Scientific Reports

Mechanically Induced Chromatin Condensation Requires Cellular Contractility in Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Su Jin Heo, Woojin M. Han, Spencer E. Szczesny, Brian D. Cosgrove, Dawn M. Elliott, David A. Lee, Randall L. Duncan, Robert L. Mauck, 2016, Biophysical Journal on p. 864-874

The Nuclear Option: Evidence Implicating the Cell Nucleus in Mechanotransduction

Spencer E. Szczesny, Robert L. Mauck, 2017, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

Crimped Nanofibrous Biomaterials Mimic Microstructure and Mechanics of Native Tissue and Alter Strain Transfer to Cells

Spencer E. Szczesny, Tristan P. Driscoll, Hsiao Yun Tseng, Pang Ching Liu, Su Jin Heo, Robert L. Mauck, Pen Hsiu G. Chao, 2017, ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering on p. 2869-2876

Investigating mechanisms of tendon damage by measuring multi-scale recovery following tensile loading

Andrea H. Lee, Spencer E. Szczesny, Michael H. Santare, Dawn M. Elliott, 2017, Acta Biomaterialia on p. 363-372

Evidence that interfibrillar load transfer in tendon is supported by small diameter fibrils and not extrafibrillar tissue components

Spencer E. Szczesny, Kristen L. Fetchko, George R. Dodge, Dawn M. Elliott, 2017, Journal of Orthopaedic Research on p. 2127-2134

Macroporous Hydrogels for Stable Sequestration and Sustained Release of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Using Nucleic Acid Aptamers

Lidya Abune, Nan Zhao, Jinping Lai, Benjamin Peterson, Spencer Szczesny, Y Wang, 2019, ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering on p. 2382-2390

Fatigue loading of tendon results in collagen kinking and denaturation but does not change local tissue mechanics

Spencer E. Szczesny, Céline Aeppli, Alexander David, Robert L. Mauck, 2018, Journal of Biomechanics on p. 251-256