Research interests
My overarching research theme is the development of a translational approach to improved understanding and treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). This encompasses the initiation and progression of early post-traumatic OA and understanding and treatment of late-stage OA, with the primary objective of improving diagnostic and therapeutic patient care. In pursuit of this objective, I use novel imaging techniques to develop imaging biomarkers to determine early OA related joint changes and to understand characteristics and treatment of late-stage OA. Imaging is coupled with experimental biomechanical testing to develop validated computational models to further understand mechanistic pathways leading to joint degeneration.
Supervision and student opportunities
- Undergraduate thesis
Please email me to discuss current available opportunities.
Teaching, expertise, tools and technologies
- Upper-extremity biomechanics
- Orthopaedic biomechanics
- Osteoarthritis
- Computational modeling
- Imaging
Courses
KIN 613: Modern Methods of Biomechanical Modeling, Kinematics, and Kinetics
Education
BEng, Carleton University
MESc, Western University
PhD, Western University
PDF, University of Calgary
Selected publications
See Google Scholar for full list of publications.
Stiles, C.K., Matheson, B.E., Athwal, G.S., Callaghan, J.P., Dickerson, C.R., Boyd, S.K. and Knowles, N.K., 2026. Internal Density Calibration in the Proximal Humerus to Estimate Bone Stiffness for Stemless Shoulder Arthroplasty. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 44(1).
Knowles, N.K., Quayyum, S., Ying, J., Stiles, C. and Beshay, D., 2024. Image-based finite element model stiffness and vBMD by single and dual energy CT reconstruction kernel. Journal of Biomechanics, 177, p.112426.
Pervez, Y., Stiles, C., Yang, Z., Pageau, A., Ying, J., Davidson, J., Arshad, E., Cudlip, A., Laing, A., Callaghan, J.P. and Knowles, N.K. 2025. The Effect of Image Reconstruction Kernel and Density Modulus Relationship in Finite Element Models of Simulated Cadaveric Acromial Loading. Journal of Biomechanics