Biography
Professor Johannes Weickenmeier is an Associate Professor of Brain Health in the Department of Engineering Science and a Fellow of St. Cross College since 2024. He is part of the Podium Institute and leads the efforts on Brain Health. He obtained his PhD from the ETH Zurich in 2015 and trained as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University for three years. He then joined Stevens Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering from 2018-2024. His area of expertise is the design of theoretical and computational models to simulate and predict the multiphysics behaviour of living systems with a particular focus on the brain.
His group aims to understand the most prevalent damage mechanisms associated with healthy aging, neurodegenerative, and traumatic brain injury with the goal to facilitate early diagnosis of abnormal brain changes. Johannes is also the founding member of the Center for Neuromechanics at Stevens in 2019 and served as its Director from 2022-2024. He received the Stevens Employee Recognition Award for Student-Centricity in 2022 for his extensive efforts to promote undergraduate student research and was recently awarded the National Science Foundation Career Award in 2024.
Awards and Prizes
- 06/2024 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
- 11/2022 Editor’s Choice Award from Engineering with Computers for our manuscript titled 3D Finite-Element Brain Modelling of Lateral Ventricular Wall Loading to Rationalise Periventricular White Matter Hyperintensity Locations
- 04/2022 Employee Recognition Award for Student-Centricity from Stevens Institute of Technology
- 08/2018 Editor’s Choice Award from Physical Review Letters for our manuscript titled The Multiphysics of Prion-Like Diseases: Progression and Atrophy
- 09/2016 Editor’s Choice Award from Physical Review Letters for our manuscript titled Stress Singularities in Swelling Soft Solids
Research Interests
- Experimental Continuum Mechanics Mechanics of Soft Materials
- Computational Multiscale and Multiphysics Mechanics
- Longitudinal Image Registration
- Neuromechanics of Aging, Injury, and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Current Projects
Multiphysics Continuum Modelling of Brain Aging
We aim to predict cerebral atrophy to compare brain shape changes in healthy and accelerated aging.
Experimental Characterisation of Periventricular Tissues
We develop experimental protocols to measure temporal and spatial gradients in the mechanical properties of periventricular tissues.
Longitudinal Image Registration
We use nonlinear image registration to quantify brain shape changes from longitudinal image data.
Research Groups
Publications
Mechanomarker-informed identification of Alzheimer's disease based on lateral ventricular deformation.
Cunniff L & Weickenmeier J (2026), Brain Res Bull, 246, 112146
BibTeX
@article{mechanomarkerin-2026/10,
title={Mechanomarker-informed identification of Alzheimer's disease based on lateral ventricular deformation.},
author={Cunniff L & Weickenmeier J},
journal={Brain Res Bull},
volume={246},
pages={112146},
year = "2026"
}
Aging-related lateral ventricular shape changes and corresponding mechanical loading derived from longitudinal image registration
Cunniff L & Weickenmeier J (2026), Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 25(3), 54
BibTeX
@article{agingrelatedlat-2026/6,
title={Aging-related lateral ventricular shape changes and corresponding mechanical loading derived from longitudinal image registration},
author={Cunniff L & Weickenmeier J},
journal={Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology},
volume={25},
pages={54},
publisher={Springer Nature},
year = "2026"
}
A computational framework to predict the spreading of Alzheimer's disease.
Vazquez-Palomo A, Betegón C, Weickenmeier J & MARTINEZ-PANEDA E (2026), Engineering with computers, 42(2), 78-78
BibTeX
@article{acomputationalf-2026/4,
title={A computational framework to predict the spreading of Alzheimer's disease.},
author={Vazquez-Palomo A, Betegón C, Weickenmeier J & MARTINEZ-PANEDA E},
journal={Engineering with computers},
volume={42},
pages={78-78},
year = "2026"
}
A computational framework to predict the spreading of Alzheimer’s disease
Vazquez-Palomo A, Betegón C, Weickenmeier J & Martínez-Pañeda E (2026), Engineering with Computers, 42(2)
BibTeX
@article{acomputationalf-2026/4,
title={A computational framework to predict the spreading of Alzheimer’s disease},
author={Vazquez-Palomo A, Betegón C, Weickenmeier J & Martínez-Pañeda E},
journal={Engineering with Computers},
volume={42},
number={78},
publisher={Springer},
year = "2026"
}
Alzheimer’s Disease Accelerates Cerebral Atrophy by Over a Decade Compared to Healthy Aging
Jalalian S & Weickenmeier J (2026), Annals of Biomedical Engineering
BibTeX
@article{alzheimersdisea-2026/3,
title={Alzheimer’s Disease Accelerates Cerebral Atrophy by Over a Decade Compared to Healthy Aging},
author={Jalalian S & Weickenmeier J},
journal={Annals of Biomedical Engineering},
publisher={Springer},
year = "2026"
}
A computational framework to predict the spreading of Alzheimer's disease
Vazquez-Palomo A, Betegón C, Weickenmeier J & Martínez-Pañeda E (2026)
BibTeX
@misc{acomputationalf-2026/3,
title={A computational framework to predict the spreading of Alzheimer's disease},
author={Vazquez-Palomo A, Betegón C, Weickenmeier J & Martínez-Pañeda E},
year = "2026"
}
Region-dependent mechanical parameters in simulating cerebral atrophy
Tueni N, Griffiths E, Weickenmeier J, Rampp S & Budday S (2026), APL bioengineering, 10(1), 016104
BibTeX
@article{regiondependent-2026/1,
title={Region-dependent mechanical parameters in simulating cerebral atrophy},
author={Tueni N, Griffiths E, Weickenmeier J, Rampp S & Budday S},
journal={APL bioengineering},
volume={10},
pages={016104},
publisher={AIP Publishing},
year = "2026"
}
A dual‐pathway hypothesis to explain free water white matter spatial distribution related to vascular risk factors
Maillard P, Beiser AS, Satizabal CL, Weickenmeier J, Seshadri S et al. (2025), Alzheimer's & Dementia, 21
BibTeX
@article{adualpathwayhyp-2025/12,
title={A dual‐pathway hypothesis to explain free water white matter spatial distribution related to vascular risk factors},
author={Maillard P, Beiser AS, Satizabal CL, Weickenmeier J, Seshadri S et al.},
journal={Alzheimer's & Dementia},
volume={21},
year = "2025"
}
Microindentation reveals softening of the equatorial and anterior sclera during early myopia development in tree shrew eyes
Zhang X, El Hamdaoui M, Lim S, Grytz R & Weickenmeier J (2025), Acta Biomaterialia, 201, 446-456
BibTeX
@article{microindentatio-2025/6,
title={Microindentation reveals softening of the equatorial and anterior sclera during early myopia development in tree shrew eyes},
author={Zhang X, El Hamdaoui M, Lim S, Grytz R & Weickenmeier J},
journal={Acta Biomaterialia},
volume={201},
pages={446-456},
publisher={Elsevier},
year = "2025"
}
A Physics-Informed Deep Learning Deformable Medical Image Registration Method Based on Neural ODEs
Amiri-Hezaveh A, Tan S, Deng Q, Umulis D, Cunniff L et al. (2025), International Journal of Computer Vision, 133(9), 1-26
BibTeX
@article{aphysicsinforme-2025/6,
title={A Physics-Informed Deep Learning Deformable Medical Image Registration Method Based on Neural ODEs},
author={Amiri-Hezaveh A, Tan S, Deng Q, Umulis D, Cunniff L et al.},
journal={International Journal of Computer Vision},
volume={133},
pages={1-26},
publisher={Springer Nature},
year = "2025"
}
DPhil Opportunities
We are always looking for new DPhil students and are happy to host (international) visiting students for thesis projects! Check out our Open Positions page for additional information.
Contact Prof. Weickenmeier to inquire about available projects: johannes.weickenmeier@eng.ox.ax.uk
