https://www.thegaffneylab.com/meet-our-team daily 0.75 2023-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/1596553568155-0FVZWC3UGLOHOB4H6K08/903DDB02-B16D-4B7E-8BAE-392CFAF6B320.jpeg Meet Our Team - Principal Investigator Principal Investigator https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/1612402724848-JNTAGNTPMGPD6CHFLBTT/VandenbergPic.jpg Meet Our Team - Principal Investigator https://www.thegaffneylab.com/research daily 0.75 2025-08-16 https://www.thegaffneylab.com/publications daily 0.75 2025-08-16 https://www.thegaffneylab.com/home daily 1.0 2020-12-01 https://www.thegaffneylab.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-01-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/1596559040743-U1KYSE9IBZQTE0A3N1RP/Screen+Shot+2020-08-04+at+10.36.19+AM.png Contact - CU Denver Downtown Campus 1200 Larimer St, North Classroom Building (Suite 2024-M), Denver, CO 80204 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/1596560304395-YOWCFL1GCZNECVPO6P3A/Screen+Shot+2020-08-04+at+10.58.09+AM.png Contact - CU Denver Anschutz Medical Campus 12705 E Montview Blvd, Aurora, CO 80045 https://www.thegaffneylab.com/news daily 0.75 2021-01-12 https://www.thegaffneylab.com/brecca-gaffney-phd daily 0.75 2021-08-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/1629908189898-V8SQ69BOVBNEM5Z410BW/Gaffney_Headshot.jpg Brecca Gaffney, PhD - Brecca Gaffney, PhD Assistant Professor Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver Center for Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus CV Previous Appointments: Postdoctoral Research Scholar, 2017-2020 (Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University in St. Louis) PhD, 2017 (Mechanical Engineering, University of Denver) MS, 2013 (Mechanical Engineering, University of Denver) BS, 2011 (Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines) Brecca Gaffney, PhD, is a mechanical engineer and uses musculoskeletal biomechanics to study movement, muscle, and joint mechanics. The primary goal of her research is to better understand the mechanisms of overuse injuries (e.g. osteoarthritis) in populations with lower extremity movement pathology. Professor Gaffney’s research career began in her Master’s Thesis, that developed a real-time biofeedback interface using high-density surface electromyography for postural correction and treatment of chronic neck pain due to prolonged computer use. Her doctoral research identified low back and hip movement compensations adopted by patients with transtibial dysvascular amputation during activities of daily living. She then was a postdoctoral research scholar in the Program in Physical Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Her postdoc research focused on studying the effects of surgical and non-surgical interventions on joint mechanics in patients with hip dysplasia. Dr. Gaffney is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F32) from NIH/NIAMS and was a 2018 L'Oréal USA For Women in Science fellow. Brecca is a Colorado native and former NCAA Division II collegiate athlete (women’s basketball). Outside of her research, Brecca enjoys everything Colorado has to offer (snowboarding, hiking, camping, craft beer) as well as anything with her dog, Gryff. https://www.thegaffneylab.com/lab-alumni-1 daily 0.75 2025-08-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/63ce91f6-525a-4970-89e8-32a169431212/_JAO4978_2.jpg Lab Alumni https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/ad1e284e-dc7d-4457-8f9c-e7e534a65485/Headshot_7.2021.jpg Lab Alumni https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/e8585bc4-b965-4b2c-af15-54d4ca17264b/NWV_Headshot.jpg Lab Alumni https://www.thegaffneylab.com/grace-georgiou daily 0.75 2025-11-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/a20308f2-e3a3-407f-9a2e-362cf661b0dc/IMG_3822.png Grace Georgiou - Grace Georgiou MS Student Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver Previous appointments: BS, 2025 (Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver) Grace grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and always loved the STEM classes. She moved to Colorado during high school, where she was a competitive softball player. She is a graduate student in the Bioengineering department who is interested in biomechanics and imaging techniques. In her free time, she enjoys going on hikes and spending time with her dog. https://www.thegaffneylab.com/mitchell-ekdahl daily 0.75 2023-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/be6ac2c8-7f20-4eb4-96bb-f5ee37977262/mitchgradphotos-62.jpg Mitchell Ekdahl - Mitchell Ekdahl PhD Student Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver Previous appointments: BS, 2020 (Bioengineering, University of Washington) Mitchell Ekdahl is a PhD student in Dr. Gaffney’s Biomechanics Lab. His current primary research interest is in examining the effects of osseointegration on the development and progression of osteoarthritis by developing contact models for dynamic hip cartilage loading during gait. Mitchell is originally from Salem, Oregon and grew up playing soccer, basketball, and alto saxophone. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Bioengineering and a minor in Applied Mathematics. After college, he moved to Dallas, Texas, where he spent two years as a research fellow in a pediatric sports medicine motion analysis lab. In his free time he enjoys hiking, running, baking, and finding new coffee shops around Denver. https://www.thegaffneylab.com/brian-shaver daily 0.75 2023-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/0b46a8c5-30b4-4cdd-afa1-165d5351d5b4/IMG_1065.jpg Brian Shaver - Brian Shaver BS/MS Student Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver Brian Shaver is a Senior Bioengineering student in the BS/MS program at CU Denver. With a previous degree in Video Production, he wants to continue pursuing new knowledge. In his downtime he loves gaming, cooking, and hiking. https://www.thegaffneylab.com/take-action daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://www.thegaffneylab.com/mitchell-ekdahl-1 daily 0.75 2025-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/567f9a70-17fe-4c3f-b285-22fbe827eea3/Shikha_Headshot.jpg Shikha Saxena - Shikha Saxena MS Student Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver Previous appointments: BS, 2024 (Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill) Shikha Saxena is a Master’s student in Dr. Gaffney’s Biomechanics Lab. Her current primary research interest is in developing and validating an algorithm that can be used to supplement tests of functional performance using a single wearable sensor. Shikha grew up in California and enjoyed dancing, reading, and science courses from a young age. After finishing high school, she moved to North Carolina where she got her Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering at UNC Chapel Hill. She found her passion for biomechanics at a lab there and has since pursed opportunities that helped her learn more about human movement research. In her free time, she enjoys baking, dancing, and going to the gym. https://www.thegaffneylab.com/mitchell-ekdahl-1-1 daily 0.75 2025-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/4bb1086c-b630-4cef-9e50-79177015fee3/sammel_headshot.jpg Jacquie Sammel - Jacquie Sammel BS/MS Student Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver Jacquie Sammel is a senior Mechanical Engineering student and will continue at CU Denver to complete her Master’s degree in mechanical engineering as part of the 4+1 program. Her academic interests are in biomechanics, with a focus on understanding human movement through computational modeling. She is especially interested in the application of these methods within rehabilitative care to enhance functional mobility and autonomy for the amputee population. Originally from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, Jacquie enjoys crocheting, training Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and riding her motorcycle in her free time. https://www.thegaffneylab.com/samuel-winston daily 0.75 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f29733e0812cb4ea59ef76e/72fed97c-9580-4b6e-b60f-836da38da48f/Winston_Headshot.jpg Samuel Winston, PhD - Samuel Winston, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Previous appointments: PhD 2025 (Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University) BS 2021 (Mechanical Engineering, University of Portland) Sam Winston is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Gaffney’s Biomechanics Lab. His current primary research interest is computationally examining how prosthetic foot stiffness can affect stresses experienced at the bone-implant interface in patients with bone-anchored limbs. With secondary interests in enhancing the throughput of patient specific finite element models. Sam is from Tucson, Arizona, he attended University of Portland where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. During undergrad he developed a passion for research when working on a mechanical device for the suppression of Parkinsonian hand tremors. Following undergrad, he got his PhD in mechanical engineering at Colorado State University investigating mechanically and immunologically instructive tissue engineering scaffolds for rotator cuff repair. During his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing golf, and traveling to sporting events hoping to see every baseball stadium.