Rate My Professor Andy Karduna

Andy Karduna is Professor and Department Head of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon, where he has served since 2002. He directs the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory. Originally from New York, he received a BS in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989. He earned an MSE in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1991 and a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1996 to 2002, he was faculty in the Department of Physical Therapy at MCP Hahnemann University (now Drexel University), rising from Assistant to Associate Professor. At the University of Oregon, he advanced to Associate Professor in 2008 and Professor in 2014. He also served as Associate Dean of the Graduate School from 2017 to 2021 and Interim Vice Provost for Graduate Studies in 2021. Karduna has held leadership roles including service on the American Society of Biomechanics Executive Board from 2003 to 2009 and 2012 to 2015, Chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee from 2015 to 2016, and Chair of the Scholastic Review Committee from 2012 to 2013.

His research specializes in upper extremity biomechanics, with emphasis on kinematics, EMG analysis, proprioception, and occupational disorders, particularly shoulder injuries. As principal investigator, he has received major funding including an NIH R01 grant for "Neurophysiology of Weakness and Exercise in Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy" (2014-2021, $1,500,000 direct costs) and a CDC R01 for "A Biomechanical Study of Work-Related Shoulder Disorders" (2007-2013, $700,000 direct costs). Key publications include "ISB recommendation on definitions of joint coordinate systems of various joints for the reporting of human joint motion—Part II: shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand" (Journal of Biomechanics, 2005), "Anatomical and biomechanical mechanisms of subacromial impingement syndrome" (Clinical Biomechanics, 2003), "Direct 3-dimensional measurement of scapular kinematics during dynamic movements in vivo" (Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 2001), "Dynamic measurements of three-dimensional scapular kinematics: a validation study" (Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2001), "Shoulder function and 3-dimensional kinematics in people with shoulder impingement syndrome before and after a 6-week exercise program" (Physical Therapy, 2004), and "Shoulder function and 3-dimensional scapular kinematics in people with and without shoulder impingement syndrome" (Physical Therapy, 2006). He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Biomechanics since 2015 and Fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics since 2018. Additional honors include the University of Oregon Graduate School Excellence Award for Director of Graduate Studies (2017), Research Award from the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association (1998), and finalist for the American Society of Biomechanics Clinical Biomechanics Award (1998, 1999).