Alena Grabowski
Associate Professor
Integrative Physiology
Alena.Grabowski@colorado.edu
303-492-5208

Office: Clare 103    
Fax: 303-492-4009

Research Interests

  • The interaction of physiology and biomechanics during human locomotion; specifically how the implementation of assistive mechanical devices, such as leg prostheses and exoskeletons, influence walking, running, hopping, jumping, bicycling, and sprinting.
  • Applied Biomechanics Laboratory.

Education

  • 1995-1998, B.A., Kinesiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
  • 2002-2007, Ph.D., Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

Professional Experience

  • 2007-2011, Post-doctoral Fellow, Media Lab Biomechatronics Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
  • 2009-2011, Research Scientist, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - Providence VA Center for Restorative & Regenerative Medicine, Providence, RI
  • 2011-2012, Research Specialist, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Whirlwind Wheelchair International, San Francisco, CA
  • 2012-2013, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
  • 2013-2020, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
  • 2013-Present, Research Healthcare Scientist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Denver, CO
  • 2020-Present, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.

Recent Publications

  • JR Tacca, ZA Colvin, & AM Grabowski. Greater than recommended stiffness and power setting of a stance-phase powered leg prosthesis can improve step-to-step transition work and effective foot length ratio during walking in people with transtibial amputation. Frontiers in Bioengineering doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1336520
  • KR Ashcraft & AM Grabowski. Prosthetic Stiffness and Added Mass Affect Metabolic Power and Asymmetry in Female Runners with a Leg Amputation Journal of Applied Physiology https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/japplphysiol.00522.2023
  • BJ Needles & AM Grabowski. Letter to the Editor: When Does Technology Become Too Advanced for Track and Field? Journal of Applied Physiology
  • CE Hirschmann, JR Montgomery, & AM Grabowski. The contribution of lower-limb joint quasi-stiffness to theoretical leg stiffness during level, uphill and downhill running at different speeds. Royal Society Open Science https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231133
  • SP Allen & AM Grabowski. The spring stiffness profile within a passive, full-leg exoskeleton affects lower-limb joint mechanics while hopping. Royal Society Open Science https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.231449
  • JR Tacca, ZA Colvin, & AM Grabowski. Low-profile prosthetic foot stiffness category and size, and shoes affect axial and torsional stiffness and hysteresis. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2024.1290092 
  • GB Diaz, RS Alcantara, & AM Grabowski. Maximum velocity and leg-specific ground reaction force production change with radius during flat curve sprinting. Journal of Experimental Biology jeb.246649. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246649
  • JH Zhang-Lea, JR Tacca, ON Beck, P Taboga, & AM Grabowski. Equivalent running leg lengths require prosthetic legs to be longer than biological legs during standing. Scientific reports 13 (1), 7679.
  • Z Colvin, JR Montgomery (née Jeffers) & AM Grabowski. Effects of powered versus passive-elastic ankle foot prostheses on leg muscle activity during level, uphill, and downhill walking. Royal Society Open Science https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220651
  • SP Allen, ON Beck, & AM Grabowski. Evaluating the “cost of generating force” hypothesis across frequency in human running and hopping. Journal of Experimental Biology 2022 Sep 15;225(18):jeb244755. doi: 10.1242/jeb.244755. Epub 2022 Sep 28.
  • JR Tacca, ON Beck, P Taboga, & AM Grabowski. Running-specific prosthesis model, stiffness and height affect biomechanics and asymmetry of athletes with unilateral leg amputations across speeds. Royal Society Open Science Accepted 4 May 2022 9: 211691 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211691
  • KR Ashcraft & AM Grabowski. Characterizing the Mechanical Stiffness of Passive-Dynamic Ankle-Foot Orthosis Struts. Front Rehab Sci, Published 15 April 2022 https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2022.820285
  • RS Alcantara, WB Edwards, G Millet, & AM Grabowski. Predicting continuous ground reaction forces from accelerometers during uphill and downhill running: A recurrent neural network solution. PeerJ Published Jan. 4, 2022 https://peerj.com/articles/12752
  • ON Beck, P Taboga, & AM Grabowski. Sprinting with prosthetic versus biological legs: insight from experimental data. Royal Society Open Science Published 2022-1-5 https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211799