Rate My Professor Kathryn Stok

Professor Kathryn Stok is Professor of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. She serves as the leader of the Integrative Cartilage Research Group (ICRG), which develops and applies innovative technologies to uncover mechanobiological signalling networks in cartilage and joint disorders. Her research specializes in quantitative microstructural imaging and mechanics of cartilage and joints, employing experimental and computational approaches. Key areas include micro-computed tomography for arthritis progression, cartilage degeneration assessment using contrast-enhanced imaging, and multiscale modelling of osteochondral mechanobiology. The group investigates pathology, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for cartilage and musculoskeletal disorders, with potential for Medtech patents and spin-offs.

Dr. Stok earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from ETH Zurich's Institute for Biomedical Engineering between 2002 and 2007. She has held lecturing positions at ETH Zurich since 2008, including courses on orthopaedic biomechanics and biomedical engineering, and guest lecturing at Chalmers University of Technology since 2012 on biological materials and in vivo imaging. At the University of Melbourne, she co-founded the FEIT Mechanobiology Lab, equipped with advanced tools like a 3D bioprinter, mechanical testing machines, and fluorescence microscopy for cartilage and bone research. The ICRG has secured an ARC LIEF grant over $875,000 for a 3-photon microscope and produced publications such as 'Macromolecular Interactions in Cartilage Extracellular Matrix Vary According to the Cartilage Type and Location' in Cartilage (2021) and 'Quantitative measures of bone shape, cartilage morphometry and joint alignment are associated with disease in an ACLT and MMx rat model of osteoarthritis' in Bone. Her work is cited over 3,500 times on Google Scholar, contributing to advancements in arthritis imaging and tissue engineering. She is a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust).