• Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE), 2008
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2007
• Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE) and Chartered Mechanical Engineer (CEng), 2001
• PhD in Bio-engineering, University of Leeds, 1997
• BEng in Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, 1993

Duncan Shepherd gained a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Leeds in 1993. He went on to undertake research in Bio-engineering in the Research School of Medicine, University of Leeds. In 1997 was awarded a PhD for research on the mechanical properties of articular cartilage.

From 1997 until 2004 he worked in Department of Bio-Medical Physics & Bio-Engineering at the University of Aberdeen. He started work as a Research Fellow and in 2000 he was awarded a prestigious Leverhulme Trust Special Research Fellowship to undertake research on the design of a novel wrist implant. In 2002 he became a Lecturer in Bio-engineering.

Duncan moved to the University of Birmingham in 2004 as a Lecturer to help establish a new research area in Bio-medical Engineering, located within the School of Mechanical Engineering. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 200 and Reader in 2011.

Teaching Programmes

• Mechanical Engineering
• MRes Biomaterials

Duncan is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

• Design and testing of Medical Devices, e.g. spinal implants, small joint replacement, trauma devices.
• Mechanical properties of natural tissues, e.g. articular cartilage.

Research Themes

Bio-medical Engineering, Design and Testing of Medical Devices, Measurement of Mechanical Properties of natural tissues. 

Research Activity

Spinal implant testing

With funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Duncan has developed a spinal implant testing facility at the University of Birmingham. A spine simulator is being used to investigate:

• Tribology of disc arthroplasty
• Mechanical properties of elastomeric disc arthroplasty
• Mechanical properties of nucleus replacement implants

Design of medical devices

Duncan has experience in designing a range of medical devices including small joint arthroplasty, sternal fixation devices and surgical instruments. He uses solid modelling and finite element analysis to optimise designs, and has experience of working within the regulatory framework for the design of medical devices. He also has a range of experience of using materials testing machines to test medical devices to International Standards. 

Mechanical Properties of natural tissues

Duncan has experience of measuring a range of mechanical properties of natural tissues. This research has included measurements of the viscoelastic properties of articular cartilage and the intervertebral disc, using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis.

• Board Member of the Engineering in Medicine and Health Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Engineering
• Member of the Academic Standards Panel of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Engineering
• Editorial Board Member of The Open Biomedical Engineering Journal
• Assistant Editorial Board Member of the European Spine Journal

Selected:

• Aslani FJ, Hukins DWL & Shepherd DET (2012). Applicability of sheep and pig models for the cancellous bone in human vertebral bodies. Journal of Engineering in Medicine. In press.
• Espino DM, Shepherd DET & Hukins DWL (2012). Development of a transient large strain contact method for biological heart valve simulations. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering. In press.
• Moghadas P, Mahomed A, Hukins DWL, Shepherd DET (2012). Friction in metal-on-metal total disc arthroplasty: effect of ball radius. Journal of Biomechanics 45: 504-509.
• Aslani FJ, Hukins DWL, Shepherd DET, Parry JJ, Fennell AJ & Lambell S (2012). Design of a surgical instrument for removing bone to provide screw access to a spinal fusion cage. Journal of Engineering in Medicine 226: 41-48.
• Patel PSD, Shepherd DET, Hukins DWL, Aspinwall EM, Fennell AJ & Trotman S (2011). Current practice of pedicle screw surgery in the UK and Ireland: a questionnaire study. The Open Biomedical Engineering Journal. 5, 90-97.
• Aslani FJ, Hukins DWL & Shepherd DET (2011). Effect of side holes in cervical fusion cages: a finite element analysis study. Journal of Engineering in Medicine 225 986-992.
• Millard L, Espino DM, Shepherd DET, Hukins DWL & Buchan KG (2011). Mechanical properties of chordae tendineae of the mitral heart valve: Young’s modulus, structural stiffness and effects of aging. Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology 11: 221–230.
• Gadd MJ & Shepherd DET (2011). Viscoelastic properties of the intervertebral disc and the effect of nucleus pulposus removal. Journal of Engineering in Medicine 225: 335-341.
• Patel PSD, Shepherd DET & Hukins DWL (2010). The effect of screw insertion angle and thread type on the pullout strength of bone screws in normal and osteoporotic bone models. Medical Engineering & Physics 32: 822-828.
• Mahomed A, Hukins DWL, Kukureka SN & Shepherd DET (2010). Effect of accelerated aging on the viscoelastic properties of elast-eonTM: a polyurethane with soft poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(hexamethylene oxide) segments. Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications 30: 1298–1303.
• Lei D, Hukins DWL, Shepherd DET & Wardlaw D (2010). Silicone annulus for mechanically testing nucleus replacement implants for the lumbar intervertebral disc. International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics 2: 195–204.
• Karuppiah SV, Johnstone AJ & Shepherd DET (2010). How cross screw length influences the stiffness of intramedullary nail systems. Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering 3: 35-38.