Tony Keaveny

Chancellors Professor, Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering Core Member, UCB/UCSF Graduate Group in Bioengineering 6175 Etcheverry Hall mailcode: MC 1740 (510) 643-8017 fax: (510) 642-6163 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it http://www.me.berkeley.edu/faculty/keaveny.html Membership effective July 1993

Research Interests

Biomechanics of cortical and trabecular bone; design of spine prostheses; bone fracture and osteoporosis; tissue engineering of bone.

Research Summary

Our research is focused on bone bio-mechanics, prosthesis design, and tissue engineering. Current projects are motivated mostly be age-related bone fragility, and problems such as osteoporosis. One main area is on trabecular bone micro-mechanics and development of a multiaxial failure criterion. Another is understanding the biochemistry and biomechanics of age-related loss of bone ductility. A third is spine biomechanics, where we are focusing on reinforcement and repair of elderly vertebrae. Tissue engineering work is focused on using bone cells to make artificial bone, and on the role of mechanical and biochemical stimuli on bone cells. Our prosthesis design work is focused on spinal implants, with emphasis on their use in elderly patients with low bone mass. These efforts are centered at the Berkeley Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory, with strong ties to the Department of Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Radiology, and Medicine.

Selected Publications

Crawford RP, Cann CE, and Keaveny TM Finite element models predict in vitro vertebral body compressive strength better than quantitative computed tomography. Bone, 33:744-750, 2003.

Morgan EF Bayraktar HH, Yeh OC, Majumdar S, Burghardt AJ, and Keaveny TM: Contribution of inter-site variations in architecture to trabecular bone apparent yield strains. Journal of Biomechanics 37: 1413-20, 2004.

Hernandez CJ, Tang SY, Baumbach BM, Hwu PB, Sakkee AN, van der Ham F, Degroot J, Bank RA, and Keaveny TM: Pyridinium and non-enzymatic glycation mediated collagen cross-links and trabecular microfracture, Bone, 37:825-832, 2005.

Bevill G, Eswaran SK, Gupta A, Papapodoulos P, and Keaveny TM: Influence of bone volume fraction and architecture on computed large-deformation failure mechanisms in human trabecular bone. Bone, 39: 1218-1225, 2006.


Keaveny TM, Donley DW, Hoffmann PF, Mitlak BH, Glass EV, and San Martin JA: Effects of teriparatide and alendronate on vertebral strength as assessed by finite element modeling of QCT scans in women with osteoporosis. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 22: 149-157, 2007.