Dr. Hanna Isaksson is a professor of Biomechanics at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lund University, where she leads the Biomechanics team. She is also the vice-head of MathKOA. Her expertise is in musculoskeletal tissue mechanics, using methods from material science and solid mechanics to address research questions of relevance to orthopedics. The research focuses on understanding how tissue structure, composition and mechanical function are related in health and disease, utilizing both complex experimental tissue characterization methods and advanced computational modelling. Within MathKOA the team focuses on questions relevant to knee osteoarthritis. 

Over the last 20 years, Hanna has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed journal articles (Scopus H-index of 39) that have been cited more than 4,800 times. Her team has been pioneering the development of in situ experimental methods from the organ down to the nanoscale, required for advancing and validating computational models’ ability to describe musculoskeletal tissue biomechanics and mechanobiology. Some of these outcomes aiming to significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of orthopedic conditions were recently recognized at the IVA 100 list 2024 - Innovation through Interdisciplinary Research, as the research with the most potential to create value through commercialization, business and method development or societal impact.

The work of Hanna’s team within MathKOA focuses on investigating the response of articular cartilage and meniscus across the lifespan by performing synchrotron-based in situ imaging and scattering experiments during mechanical loading. The team also works with tissue scale mechanical modelling, and mechanobiological predictions of cartilage degeneration and subchondral bone. She has an extensive track-record of securing research funding, including e.g. an ERC consolidator grant, and in 2024 she obtained the Erna Ebeling award for her translational osteoporosis research from the Swedish Society for Medical Technology. 

Hanna is actively involved in teaching and mentoring students, with the goals to foster and open collaborative and inclusive learning environment. She has supervised 24 PhD students (whereof 18 graduated) and 20 post-docs from diverse fields and countries. The team members have obtained several high-recognition awards, including the best doctoral thesis by the European Society of Biomechanics and the Oscar II scholarship for the most prominent thesis at the Engineering faculty of Lund University twice.  Several previous trainees and team-members have also secured substantial own funding and are currently academic faculty members and post-doctoral researchers in leading labs across Europe.

She is engaged both in the national and international research community, currently as a member of the World Council of Biomechanics. Moreover, she is active in national research policy making and the national funding landscape, exemplified by her previous engagement in the Swedish Young Academy and current role on the Scientific Council for Natural and Engineering Sciences at the Swedish Research Council.  

For the future, Hanna is committed to continue developing interdisciplinary research in the field of Engineering Health, with a focus on technological innovations to improve diagnostics and personalized treatments for musculoskeletal conditions. The ultimate goal is that computational models and tools will be integrated into clinical practice to provide faster, cheaper and better decision-making to improve health and well-being for patients around the world.