1332084
Professor Peter Pivonka
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Mech., Medical & Process Engineering
Biography
Peter finished his PhD with distinction at the Institute for Mechanics of Materials and Structures at Vienna University of Technology (TU-Vienna) in 2001. In 2007 he completed his Doctor of Science thesis at TU-Vienna leading to the award of the Venia Docendi in Continuum Mechanics and Biomechanics. Peter previously held the position of Associate Professor of Surgery at the St Vincent’s Department of Surgery at the University of Melbourne, where he led the Mechanobiology and Musculoskeletal Tissue Mechanics group. Peter is currently the Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering and Spinal Disorders at Queensland University of Technology.Peter has made significant contributions to musculoskeletal research in terms of establishing mechanobiology and bioengineering as priority research areas, promoting novel inter-disciplinary approaches to orthopaedic and bone biology research, and organization of workshops and mini-symposia. Peter’s work on mechanobiological regulation of bone tissue and multiscale modeling of materials is nationally and internationally recognized. His research interests are in mechanobiology, biomaterials, tissue engineering, musculoskeletal diseases (OP, OA, sarcopenia) and clinical interventions, estimation of material properties, multiscale modeling, systems biology, and high-resolution X-ray imaging.
Over the last 5 years Peter has published one book, three book chapters, 25 journal papers, 25 conference papers covering both theoretical and experimental aspects of biomechanics and mechanobiology. His research publications are in high impact journals such as Bone, BoneKEy, Journal of Biomechanics, Journal of Theoretical Biology, BMMB, Journal of Engineering Mechanics, PlosOne and International Journal of Nanomedicine. He has contributed to more than 100 conference abstracts since 2004 and has presented a majority of these papers.
Personal details
Positions
- Professor and Chair of Biomechanics
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Mech., Medical & Process Engineering
Keywords
biomechanics, mechanobiology, bone adaptation, multiscale modeling, tissue engineering, finite element analysis, bone remodeling, osteoporosis, bone fracture
Research field
Biomedical engineering, Mechanical engineering, Materials engineering
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD in Engineering Sciences (Civil Engineering) (Vienna Technical University)
Professional memberships and associations
2014-
Member
Australian New Zealand Society of Biomechanics (ANZSB)
2011-
Member
European Society of Biomechanics (ESB)
2011
Member
International Bone and Mineral Research Society (IBMS)
2011-
Member
Australian and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society (ANZIAM), Mathematical Biology
2011-2015
Member
European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST); Materials, Physics and Nanosciences: from Nano to Macro Biomaterials (NAMABIO)
2009-
Member
National Institute of Health (NIH) - Multiscale Modelling in Tissue Mechanics
2008-
Member
Australian and New Zealand Orthopaedic Research Society (ANZORS)
2006-2016
Member
Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society (ANZBMS)
2005-
Member
American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Experience
3/2017 – current
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering and Spinal Disorders, School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology
7/2015 – 2/2017
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Associate Professor of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, St Vincent’s Department of Surgery
3/2013 – 6/2015
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Associate Professor of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Northwest Academic Centre
5/2012 – 2/2013
Perth, WA, Australia
Research Associate Professor, The University of Western Australia, School of Computer Science & Software Engineering
2/2009 – 4/2012
Perth, WA, Australia
Research Fellow (C), The University of Western Australia, School of Computer Science & Software Engineering
3/2005 – 1/2009
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Research Fellow (C), The University of Melbourne, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
9/2004 – 2/2005
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Research Fellow (B), The University of Melbourne, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
3/2004 - 8/2004
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
3/2003 – 2/2004
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Research Fellow, The University of Newcastle, Dept. of Civil, Surveying and Environmental Engineering
8/2002 – 2/2003
Perth, WA, Australia
Research Fellow, CSIRO – Exploration and Mining
9/2000 – 2/2002
Vienna, Austria
University Associate, Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Mechanics of Materials and Structures
9/1996 – 8/2000
Vienna, Austria
Research Associate, Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Mechanics of Materials and Structures
Publications
- Sansalone, V., Martin, M., Haïat, G., Pivonka, P. & Lemaire, T. (2021). A new model of bone remodeling and turnover set up in the framework of generalized continuum mechanics. Mathematics and Mechanics of Solids, 26(9), 1376–1393. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207922
- Calvo-Gallego, J., Pivonka, P., Garcia-Aznar, J. & Martinez-Reina, J. (2021). A novel algorithm to resolve lack of convergence and checkerboard instability in bone adaptation simulations using non-local averaging. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering, 37(2), Article e3419. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206708
- Martinez-Reina, J., Calvo-Gallego, J. & Pivonka, P. (2021). Are drug holidays a safe option in treatment of osteoporosis? - Insights from an in silico mechanistic PK–PD model of denosumab treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 113, Article 104140. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206707
- Pickering, E., Silva, M., Delisser, P., Brodt, M., Gu, Y. & Pivonka, P. (2021). Estimation of load conditions and strain distribution for in vivo murine tibia compression loading using experimentally informed finite element models. Journal of Biomechanics, 115, Article 110140. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207215
- Holmes, D. & Pivonka, P. (2021). Novel pressure inlet and outlet boundary conditions for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, applied to real problems in porous media flow. Journal of Computational Physics, 429, Article 110029. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207058
- Martin, M., Pivonka, P., Haïat, G., Lemaire, T. & Sansalone, V. (2020). Algorithmic formulation of bone fabric evolution based on the dissipation principle: A 2D finite-element study. In B. Abali & I. Giorgio (Eds.), Developments and Novel Approaches in Biomechanics and Metamaterials (pp. 49–69). Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/205637
- Martin, M., Sansalone, V., Cooper, D., Forwood, M. & Pivonka, P. (2020). Assessment of romosozumab efficacy in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis: Results from a mechanistic PK-PD mechanostat model of bone remodeling. Bone, 133, Article 115223.
- Martin, M., Lemaire, T., Haïat, G., Pivonka, P. & Sansalone, V. (2020). Bone orthotropic remodeling as a thermodynamically-driven evolution. Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology, 20(4), Article 1950084. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206706
- Harrison, K., Hiebert, B., Panahifar, A., Andronowski, J., Ashique, A., King, G., Arnason, T., Swekla, K., Pivonka, P. & Cooper, D. (2020). Cortical bone porosity in rabbit models of osteoporosis. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 35(11), 2211–2228. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/205639
- Martelli, S., Beck, B., Saxby, D., Lloyd, D., Pivonka, P. & Taylor, M. (2020). Modelling human locomotion to inform exercise prescription for osteoporosis. Current Osteoporosis Reports, 18(3), 301–311. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202682
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Peter, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Filter publications:
A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/peter.pivonka
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Breaking the Soft-Tissue Barrier: High-Fidelity Kinematic Mapping of the Dyskinetic Shoulder
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Max Lavaill - Development of multiscale computational models of bone adaptation to better understand bone structure evolution
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Saulo Martelli - Exploring kinematic mechanisms underpinning upper limb and shoulder functions: a magneto-inertial measurement unit-based system approach
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Graham Kerr, Professor Glen Lichtwark - Investigating Post-Surgery Instability in the shoulder by aiding the computational modelling
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Saulo Martelli - Multi-modal assessment of humeral head bone quality with implications for shoulder arthroscopy
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Ashish Gupta, Dr Edmund Pickering, Professor Cameron Brown - Reclaiming Natural Kinematics: A Model-Based Shift in Knee Surgery Design
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Saulo Martelli
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Assessment of the Effects of Shoulder Skeletal Variation on Joint Function using Statistical Shape Modeling (2026)
- Computer Vision Methods for Cortical and Trabecular Bone Microarchitecture Analysis using High-Resolution X-ray microCT: Quantifying Bone Adaptation and Remodelling in Preclinical Animal Models (2026)
- From Microstructure to Mechanics: A Parametric Study of Bone Shape, Density Distribution, and Internal Organisation Across Diverse Age Groups (2025)
- Heuristic Based Self-Assessment of Target Localisation During Robot-Assisted Shoulder Surgery (2025)
- Towards Comprehensive, Dynamic Shoulder Mosaicking Using Multiple Distributed 3D Ultrasound Transducers (2025)
- Modelling spinal growth and remodelling: Integrating experimental data in multiscale modelling and simulation to enhance understanding of healthy and pathological conditions (2024)
- Modelling the Biomechanical Stability of Reverse Shoulder Implant (2024)
- Assessment of musculoskeletal modelling procedures in healthy shoulders towards use for clinical applications (2023)
- Constitutive models of bone: The human femur (2023)
- Engineering the perfect mattress: Computational modelling of the pelvis in supine lying (2023)
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
- Digital Technologies in Anatomical Sciences: Digital Modalities for Education and Statistical Shape Modelling of the Os Coxa (2024)
- Analysis of ring apophysis in the developing human spine (2023)
- MRI Based Qualitative Assessment of the Supraspinatus Muscle in Rotator Cuff Tears: Analysis of Fatty Infiltration of the Supraspinatus; at Multiple Sections of the Supraspinous Fossa (2023)
- Progression of Sagittal Plane Deformity and Axial Vertebral Rotation in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (2021)
- Three-dimensional Analysis of Vertebral Growth and Deformity Progression in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Using MRI (2021)
- Spinal Deformity Correlations with the Use of EOS Imaging in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients Undertaking Brace Management (2020)
- Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Spinal Units (2019)
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.