Dr. Amy L. Throckmorton

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Email: althrock@vcu.edu
Phone: (804) 827-2278
Fax: (804) 827-7030
Website: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~althrock

Address

401 W. Main Street, Room E3253
P.O. Box 843015
Richmond, Virginia 23284-3015

Education

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 2006
M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 2002
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1998

Professional Experience

August 2007-Present:
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
July 2006-July 2007:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Surgery, Section of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.
June 1998-July 2000:
Project Engineer, Department of Engineering and Maintenance, Hercules Chemical Specialties Company, Franklin Chemical Facility, Courtland, VA.

Awards and Honors

Virginia Engineering Foundation Award for Research in Biomimetics, 1998
ASAIO Biomedical Engineering Fellowship sponsored by The Whitaker Foundation, 2003-2005
Andy Ford Research Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Field of Pediatric Cardiovascular Disease, 2004
Distinguished Virginia Engineering Foundation Fellowship, 2004
Biomedical Engineering Award at the 1st International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion, 2005
Outstanding Biomedical Engineering Student Award at the University of Virginia, 2006
Helmut Reul Young Investigator Award-2nd Place Finish-at the 14th Annual International Society for Rotary Blood Pump Conference in Leuven, Belgium, 2006
John A. Waldhausen Young Investigator Award at the 3rd International Conference on Pediatric Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion, 2007

Research Topics

Experimental and computational fluid dynamics
Turbomachinery design and applications
Bench-to-bedside development of medical devices
Artificial organs research, especially for the pediatric population
Prediction and quantification of blood trauma and thrombosis in medical devices
Cardiovascular modeling and univentricular Fontan physiology

Journal Publications

A.L. Throckmorton, P.E. Allaire, H.P. Gutgesell, G.P. Matherne, D.B. Olsen, H.G. Wood, J.H. Allaire, and S.M. Patel. "Pediatric Circulatory Support Systems." ASAIO J 2002; 48: 216-221.
X. Song, A.L. Throckmorton, A. Untaroiu, S.M. Patel, P.E. Allaire, H.G. Wood, and D.B. Olsen. "Axial Flow Blood Pumps." ASAIO J 2003; 49: 355-364.
X. Song, A.L. Throckmorton, H.G. Wood, J.F. Antaki, and D.B. Olsen. "CFD Prediction of Blood Damage in a Centrifugal Pump." Artificial Organs 2003; 27(10): 938-941.
A.L. Throckmorton, H.G. Wood, S.W. Day, X. Song, P.C. Click, P.E. Allaire, and D.B. Olsen. "Design of a Continuous Flow Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device." Int J Artif Organs 2003; 26(11): 1015-31.
X. Song, H.G. Wood, P.E. Allaire, A. Untaroiu, S.W. Day, A.L. Throckmorton, and D.B. Olsen. "Design and Transient CFD Study of a Continuous Axial Flow VAD." ASAIO J 2004; 50: 215-224.
X. Song, A.L. Throckmorton, H.G. Wood, J.F. Antaki, and D.B. Olsen. "Quantitative Evaluation of Blood Damage in a Centrifugal VAD by Computational Fluid Dynamics." ASME J Fluids Engineering 2004; 126: 410-418.
A.L. Throckmorton, A. Untaroiu, P.E. Allaire, H.G. Wood, G.P. Matherne, D.S. Lim, B.B. Peeler, and D.B. Olsen. "Computational Analysis of an Axial Flow Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device." Artificial Organs 2004; 28(10): 881-891.
X. Song, A.L. Throckmorton, H.G. Wood, and D.B. Olsen. "Transient and Quasi-steady CFD Studies of a Left Ventricular Assist Device." ASAIO J 2004; 50: 410-417.
H.G. Wood, A.L. Throckmorton, A. Untaroiu, and X. Song. "The Medical Physics of Ventricular Assist Devices." Rep. Prog. Phys. 2005; 68: 1-32. Recognized as one of the most frequently downloaded papers of 2005 by the journal.
S.M. Patel, P.E. Allaire, H.G. Wood, A.L. Throckmorton, C.G. Tribble, and D.B. Olsen. "Methods of Failure and Reliability Assessment of Mechanical Heart Pumps." Artificial Organs 2005; 29(1): 15-25. Recognized as one of the top 10 articles viewed online in 2005 at Blackwell Synergy Pub.
A. Untaroiu, A.L. Throckmorton, H.G. Wood, P.E. Allaire, and D.B. Olsen. "Numerical and Experimental Analysis of an Axial Flow LVAD: The Influence of the Diffuser on the Overall Pump Performance." Artificial Organs 2005; 29(7): 581-91.
S.M. Patel, A.L. Throckmorton, A. Untaroiu, P.E. Allaire, H.G. Wood, and D.B. Olsen. "The Status of Failure and Reliability Testing of Artificial Blood Pumps." ASAIO J 2005; 51: 440-451.
A.L. Throckmorton, D.S. Lim, M.A. McCulloch, W. Jiang, X. Song, P.E. Allaire, H.G. Wood, and D.B. Olsen. "Computational Design and Experimental Performance Testing of an Axial Flow Pediatric VAD." ASAIO J 2005; 51: 629-635.
A. Untaroiu, H.G. Wood, P.E. Allaire, A.L. Throckmorton, S.W. Day, S.M. Patel, Ellman, C.G. Tribble, and D.B. Olsen. "Computational Design and Experimental Testing of a Novel Axial Flow LVAD" ASAIO J 2005; 51: 702-710.
A.L. Throckmorton, A. Untaroiu, D.S. Lim, H.G. Wood, and P.E. Allaire. "Fluid Force Predictions and Experimental Measurements for a Magnetically Levitated Pediatric VAD." Artificial Organs 2007; 31(5): 359-368.
A.L. Throckmorton, A. Untaroiu, P.E. Allaire, H.G. Wood, D.S. Lim, M.A. McCulloch, and D.B. Olsen. "Numerical Design and Experimental Hydraulic Testing of an Axial Flow VAD for Infants and Children." In Press, ASAIO Journal.
A.L. Throckmorton, C.D. Myers, K.K. Ballman, S.H. Frankel, K. Litwak, and M.D. Rodefeld. "Mechanical Cavopulmonary Assist for the Univentricular Fontan Circulation using a Novel Folding Propeller Blood Pump." Accepted, ASAIO Journal.