Irene Yang

Assistant Professor

B.Eng. (Hons I), Mechanical (Biomedical) Engineering, University of Sydney (2015)
DPhil, Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford (2023)



Dr. Irene Yang joined Western University as an Assistant Professor and Endowed Chair in Spine and Trauma Biomechanics in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME), Faculty of Engineering and the Department of Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at University of Western Ontario (UWO) in 2025. Dr. Yang read her doctorate at Oxford University in the UK, before completing her postdoctoral and research fellowships at Edinburgh University in Scotland. Dr. Yang leads the Western Engineering for Spine and Trauma (WEST) Lab located at Victoria Hospital (London, Ontario, Canada). Her group conducts orthopaedic engineering and biomechanics research in collaboration with the 100 orthopaedic trauma and spine surgeons from the Schulich School of Dentistry and Medicine's Department of Surgery at the Victoria Hospital (London, ON, Canada). Her research interests include developing novel implants and tools for orthopaedic surgery, using engineering techniques (e.g. 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing, finite element analysis (FEA), deep learning for computer vision, mechanical testing) to understand fundamental orthopaedic problems e.g. bone fracture healing. Dr. Yang has previously co-developed a wrist fusion plate for pediatric cerebral palsy patients, currently sold in the PediFrag Wrist Fusion System (OrthoPediatrics Corp), and co-invented a patented novel tension band plate for lower limb bone deformities. 

 Professional Organizations

  • Orthopaedic Research Society
         International Section for Fracture Repair
  • Orthopaedic Trauma Association
  • Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society
  • Canadian Spine Society 

Editorial:

  •  Bone and Joint Research Journal, Associate Editor 

Honors & Awards:

  • Innovation fellowship, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2024
  • Big Ideas Accelerator Grant, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2023
  • British Orthopaedic Research Society/Bone Joint Research (BORS/BJR) travelling fellowship, 2023
  • Oxford/Santander Travel Abroad Bursary - University of Oxford, UK, 2022 
  • Oxford/Santander Travel Abroad Bursary - University of Oxford, UK, 2021
  • Healthcare Tech Awards (1st prize) - Institute of Mechanical Engineers, UK, 2021
  • Engineering Science Doctoral Research Awards (2nd prize) - Association of British Turkish Academics, UK, 2021
  • PhD Translational Research Fellowship - European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), European Union, 2019
  • Oxford Clarendon Scholarship, University of Oxford, 2018