Personnel
Personnel
Director
Graduate Students
Tyler Adamson is a graduate student working towards his dual Bachelor's and Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering. During his undergraduate years he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Andrew Anderson's lab, where he focused on the joint reaction forces associated with femoroacetabular impingement. He joined the Henninger lab in the summer of 2025 where now his graduate research seeks to validate novel motion capture techniques against standard marker tracking for upper extremity motion and use in clinical settings. In his free time Tyler loves to be outdoors, climbing, hiking, and camping.
Kaitlyn is a PhD student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. During her MASc in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria, she developed subject-specific musculoskeletal models of individuals after reverse total shoulder arthroplasty using biplane fluoroscopy kinematics and electromyography. She received her BEng in Mechanical Engineering at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, where her undergraduate research utilized FEA to validate analytical models of reluctance actuators for use in high-precision mechatronic systems. Kaitlyn is now interested in developing clinically interpretable computational models integrating in-vivo experimental data and analytical techniques. Her research hopes to improve understanding of upper limb dynamic function and quantify the mechanisms underlying compensatory movement patterns. Outside of the lab, Kaitlyn can be found exploring the outdoors, doing yoga, or crafting.
Sophia Day graduated from Baylor University with a B.S. in Engineering. During her undergraduate years, she assisted with Parkinson gait research and balance studies under Dr. Brian Garner, and microfabrication of optical biosensors for point of care diagnoses in the Dr. Seung Kim Research Group. She came to University of Utah in the fall of 2025 to pursue her PhD under Dr. Henninger. She will be focusing on the differing kinematics and morphology of transhumeral amputees with and without upper extremity osseointegrated prosthetics. In her free time, Sophia loves doing outdoor activities like climbing, hiking, and canyoneering.
Undergraduate Students
Research Staff
Jared joined the Orthopaedic Research Laboratories in 2020 where he works with the research groups of Drs. Heath Henninger and Andrew Anderson. Jared’s activities cover the range of research in the ORL and include supporting the research of undergraduate and graduate students, assisting human-subjects motion capture studies, conducting benchtop experiments, and developing tools for data processing and analysis. Before joining the ORL, Jared earned his Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. As an undergraduate research assistant in Prof. Victor Barocas’ laboratory, he studied the mechanics of the intervertebral disc and facet capsular ligament of the lumbar spine. Also, during his time in Minnesota, Jared worked as a student technician for the Department of Biomedical Engineering’s Tissue Mechanics Laboratory. In 2014, he came to the University of Utah to pursue his PhD in Biomedical Engineering, under the mentorship of Prof. Jeff Weiss, investigating basic mechanisms of mechanical damage in tendons. Through interdisciplinary collaboration with groups at the U of Utah and MIT, Jared’s research employed a novel triple-helical peptide hybridization method to detect denatured collagens and identified mechanical unfolding of the collagen triple-helix as a fundamental mechanism of damage in tendons. In his free time, Jared enjoys exploring Utah’s mountains and deserts with his wife and dog and singing in a local community choir.
Shawn Roberts is a Biomechanical Engineer and Sports Scientist with a background spanning clinical gait analysis, biomechanics and neurophysiology research, and engineering systems design. He earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his MS in Exercise Science from Appalachian State University, where his graduate work focused on biomechanics and neuromuscular control of lower-extremity injury. Before joining the University of Utah, Shawn worked as a Flight Controller at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center supporting real-time International Space Station payload operations. He later worked at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as a Motion Lab Engineer, where he developed automated pipelines for marker-based and markerless motion capture and contributed to research in pediatric and sports biomechanics. Shawn is currently split between the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory and the Neuromechanics & Applied Locomotion Research Group. Outside of research, Shawn enjoys running, rock climbing, skiing, cycling, woodworking, and exploring the outdoors.
Residents
Medical Student
Kyle earned a Bachelor’s in Biology with an emphasis in Anatomy and Physiology and a double minor in Chemistry and Economics from the University of Utah in 2024. As an undergraduate he conducted research in the lab of Dr. Lisa Cannon-Albright and Dr. Kristina Allen-Brady studying genetic epidemiology. After graduating, he joined Dr. Henninger’s team in the summer of 2024. Here he is studying glenoid morphology pre-revision shoulder arthroplasty focusing on three-dimensional classification. Kyle’s career objectives are to attend medical school and become an orthopedic surgeon. In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, weightlifting, cooking, and spending time with his friends.