Lake wins Richard Skalak Award
Recognition honors best paper published in 2025 in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
Spencer Lake, professor of mechanical engineering & materials science in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and six co-authors received the 2026 Richard Skalak Award for the best paper published in 2025 in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.
The paper, titled “Fascicular Elastin Impacts Tendon-Specific Ramp-to-Failure and Fatigue Mechanics,” was published in the November 2025 issue of the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, the flagship journal of the Bioengineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It was selected as the winner out of 18 nominated finalists from all papers published in 2025.
Co-authors on the paper were Shawn Pavey, the lead author on this study that was part of his doctoral research, who earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering & materials science in 2025 and is now a data scientist at Blackbox; Jeremy Eekhoff, who earned a doctorate in biomedical engineering in 2021 and is now a senior research specialist at University of Pennsylvania; Niyousha Karbasion, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering & materials science; Nathan Xu, who earned a bachelor’s in biology in 2025 and is now a research scholar at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Matthew Bersi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering & materials science; and Jessica Wagenseil, vice dean for faculty advancement and professor of mechanical engineering & materials science.
The group’s paper focuses on how elastic fibers dictate the structural integrity and durability of tendons. Using a genetic mouse model, the research revealed that elastin plays a crucial, tendon-dependent role in protecting tissues from cyclic fatigue and guiding collagen fiber recruitment. The findings are highly relevant to understand age-related tendon degeneration and sports-related overuse injuries, where compromised elastin networks accelerate tissue damage.
The Richard Skalak Award is named after an early leader within the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Bioengineering community. Skalak (1923–1997) played a leadership role in the formative decades of the discipline of biomedical engineering through his technical contributions in biomechanics, his educational influence on students, and his service to many developing societies and journals.
