Joyce Keyak, Ph.D.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
College of Health Sciences
University of California
Irvine, California
Phone: (949) 824-7770
Email: jhkeyak@uci.edu
Dr. Keyak did her undergraduate work at the University of California, Berkeley in Mechanical Engineering and earned her doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco/Berkeley Joint Program in Bioengineering. She specializes in the biomechanics of bone and in evaluating osteoporosis. She has pioneered noninvasive methods for creating subject-specific finite element models to evaluate bone strength. These methods have been used to compute the hip strength of astronauts before and after extended missions on the International Space Station.
Dr. Keyak is using her expertise in bone mechanics and bone remodeling to evaluate the effectiveness of the Space Cycle as a countermeasure for bone atrophy in microgravity. Initial work on Earth will evaluate the ability of the Space Cycle to induce bone hypertrophy in hypergravity. The goal of this work is to demonstrate that artificial gravity can influence bone remodeling and can enhance bone density and bone strength. Success of this project would support use of the Space Cycle as countermeasure for microgravity-induced bone atrophy.