Home Department: Engineering (Product Design)
Supported by: Bio-X
Mentor: Drew Nelson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Thea Tran is a rising senior majoring in product design. She is doing research on the impact of running form, bone health, and lifestyle factors on stress fractures. Through gait analyses and simulations, she is working to characterize the mechanical failure of bones; such research furthers knowledge that can be used to develop interventions that will help runners reduce their risk of injury. Thea is interested in health, dentistry, technological entrepreneurship, and medical causes in third world countries. Her hobbies include running, playing the harp, and photography.

Poster presented at the Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Symposium on August 27, 2012:

Identifying Modifiable Risk Factors for Stress Fractures in Distance Runners

Thea Tran¹, Adam Tenforde², Adam Daoud², Jenny Yon¹, Michael Fredericson², Drew Nelson¹
[Department of Mechanical Engineering¹ and School of Medicine², Stanford University]