James Ashton-Miller, Ph.D.

Dr. James Ashton-Miller is the Albert Schultz Collegiate Research Professor and Distinguished Research Scientist in the Departments of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, and has Research Professor appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine and the School of Kinesiology, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is also an Associate Vice President for Research for the University of Michigan where he is responsible for research policy and its compliance programs.

Dr. Ashton-Miller directs the Biomechanics Research Laboratory (https://brl.engin.umich.edu/) at the University of Michigan where he and his students use theoretical and experimental approaches to understand the biomechanics of unintentional injuries so they and their sequelae can be better prevented. He has authored over 250 scientific articles (ORCID #: 0000-0003-1528-2787), was awarded several patents, and graduated 30 doctoral students.

He is the co-PI on an NIH R01 grant concerned with demonstrating that ACL injuries may be a material fatigue failure, so limiting the number and frequency of severe loading cycles within a given time period may be a sensible way to prevent these injuries. He and colleagues in Obstetrics & Gynecology are making good progress on understanding the pathomechanics of injuries to women during vaginal birth so they and life-long sequelae can be prevented. Likewise, with colleagues in Physical Medicine and Geriatrics, he is studying balance, the causes of fall-related injuries in the elderly and those with diabetes, and concussion. His research is also funded by several Fortune 500 companies to translate insights from his research into better product design.

He is a past-President of the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB), a fellow of ASME, AIMBE, ASB, and GSA, and the winner of the 2009 ASB Giovanni Borelli award, the 2015 ASME H.R. Lissner Medal for contributions in biomechanics and bioengineering, and the 2016 Kappa Delta award from the Orthopedic Research Society and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons for his ACL research. Dr. Ashton-Miller received a B.Sc (Hons) from Newcastle University, U.K., a MSME from M.I.T., and a Ph.D. from the University of Oslo, Norway. He is a co-owner and CTO of the Viper Tool Company, Ann Arbor.