Associate Professor
Office: McCoy S205
E-Mail: davidlin@vetmed.wsu.edu
Phone: (509) 335-7534
Dr. David Lin is interested in the integrated mechanical properties
of skeletal muscle and spinal reflexes. Specifically, he studies how the
individual components making up the peripheral neuromuscular system
interact to stabilize posture while encountering a perturbation (e.g.,
an applied push to someone standing).
Dr. Lin's research is applicable to Rehabilitation Medicine,
specifically disorders of the nervous system, such as stroke or spinal
cord injury, and investigating the underlying mechanisms of abnormal
posture and movement. In addition, Dr. Lin also formulates mathematical
models of skeletal muscle. Of particular interest to his laboratory are
the force-generating characteristics of different muscle fiber types,
which can be categorized by their unique proteins. By relating muscle
protein content to mechanical function via mathematical models,
different levels of study, from the molecular to the behavioral, can be
connected.
Another aspect of his research is to incorporate the unique features
of neuromuscular systems into engineered robotic systems. Unlike robots,
humans remain stable while interacting with different loads, such as
carrying varying weights. Implementing mechanical properties similar to
muscle into the actuators of a robot may solve this problem.
Biographical Information
David Lin received a S.B. in Mechanical Engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987. He completed the M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University in
1989 and 1997 respectively. From 1997 to 2000, he was a Postdoctoral
Fellow both at Emory University in the department of Physiology and at
the Georgia Institute of Technology in the department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering. He accepted a joint appointment at Washington
State University as assistant professor in the Departments of Veterinary
and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology (VCAPP) and
Department of Biological Systems Engineering in 2001.
Selected Publications (with PubMed links on most recent articles)
Gollapudi SK, Lin DC.
Experimental determination of sarcomere force-length relationship in
type-I human skeletal muscle fibers. J. Biomech. 2009 (epub ahead of
print)
Lin, D.C. and Nichols, T.R. Parameter estimation in a crossbridge muscle
model. ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 125(1):
132-140, 2003.
Lin, D.C., and Rymer, W.Z., Damping actions of the neuromuscular system
with inertial loads: flexor pollicis longus muscle in man. Journal of
Neurophysiology. 85: 1059-1066, 2001.
Lin, D.C., and Rymer, W.Z., Damping actions of the neuromuscular system
with inertial loads: soleus muscle of the decerebrate cat. Journal of
Neurophysiology. 83: 652-658, 2000.
Nichols, T.R.,
Lin, D.C. and Huyghues-Despointes, C.M.J.I. The role of
musculoskeletal mechanics in motor coordination. In: Peripheral and
Spinal Mechanisms in the Neural Control of Movement, edited by M.D.
Binder. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, p. 369-378, 1999.
Lin, D.C., and Rymer, W.Z., Damping in reflexively active and areflexive
lengthening muscle evaluated with inertial loads. Journal of
Neurophysiology.80(6): 3369-3372, 1998.
Lin, D.C. and Rymer, W.Z., Mechanical properties of cat soleus muscle
elicited by sequential ramp stretches: implications for control of
muscle. Journal of Neurophysiology. 90(3): 997-1008, 1993.
Lin, D.C. and Rymer, W.Z., A quantitative analysis of pendular motion of
the lower leg in spastic human subjects. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical
Engineering. 38(9): 906-918, 1991.
PubMed Publications (Note: PubMed Search may produce additional "DC
Lin" authors.)
