Anne Silverman

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Anne SilvermanDr. Silverman earned her B.S.E. from Arizona State University and M.S.E. and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Her research program in musculoskeletal biomechanics centers on understanding muscle function to develop effective treatment and device interventions. Dr. Silverman uses experimental gait analysis and computational whole-body modeling techniques to identify functional roles of individual muscles in pathological movement.  These tools are applied to various motions and populations with the ultimate goal of improving mobility for people with disabilities.

Previous projects have identified muscle and joint compensations in people with lower-limb amputations across a range of walking speeds. Current projects include evaluating muscular responses to powered prosthetic devices, using musculoskeletal modeling to guide and assess physical therapy in children with cerebral palsy, linking whole-body movements to joint mechanics and degeneration, and characterizing dynamic balance during locomotion.

Contact

Brown Hall W310G
303.384.2162
asilverm@mines.edu

Labs and Research Centers

Research Areas

  • Muscular compensations resulting from the use of prosthetic and assistive devices
  • Balance regulation during dynamic tasks
  • Musculoskeletal modeling analyses to predict optimal treatment interventions
  • Therapy and treatment effects on movement performance in children with cerebral palsy and people with Parkinson’s disease
  • Relationships between whole-body movement and the development of joint disorders

Publications

  • Silverman, A.K. and Neptune, R.R. (2014). Three-dimensional knee joint contact forces during walking in unilateral transtibial amputees. Journal of Biomechanics (in press).
  • Silverman, A.K., Neptune, R.R., Sinitski, E.H., and Wilken, J.M. (2014). Whole-body angular momentum during stair ascent and descent. Gait & Posture 39(4):1109-1114.
  • Silverman, A.K. and Neptune, R.R. (2012). Muscle and prosthesis contributions to amputee walking mechanics: a modeling study. Journal of Biomechanics 45(13):2271-2278
  • Silverman, A.K., Wilken, J.M., Sinitski, E.H., and Neptune, R.R. (2012). Whole-body angular momentum during incline and decline walking. Journal of Biomechanics 45(6):965-971.
  • Silverman, A.K., Fey, N.P., Portillo, A., Walden, J.G., Bosker, G. and Neptune, R.R. (2008). Compensatory mechanisms in below-knee amputee gait in response to increasing steady-state walking speeds. Gait & Posture 28(4): 602-609

Recent Courses

  • Dynamics
  • Modeling and Simulation of Human Movement
  • Experimental Methods in Biomechanics