Cancer–Bone Mechanobiology
Investigating how bone metastases and the mechanical environment influence one another, and how to quantify treatment response.
BONE METASTASES · ONGOING RESEARCHResearch & projects ↗DEPARTMENT OF RADIOLOGY · UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Digital
Mechanobiology
Lab
We combine medical imaging, computational modelling, and machine learning to study how mechanical forces shape tissue behaviour.
QUANTITATIVE IMAGING×COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS×MACHINE LEARNING
RESEARCH
Research areas
Spine Mechanobiology
Studying how spinal alignment changes loading, and how those mechanical conditions relate to degeneration and tissue adaptation.
ALIGNMENT · LOADING · DEGENERATIONResearch & projects ↗Bone Adaptation & Remodelling
Mapping local bone formation and resorption over time, and relating these changes to the mechanical environment.
HR-pQCT · MICRO-CT · MECHANOREGULATIONResearch & projects ↗METHODS
Medical imaging · CT, MRI, HR-pQCT and micro-CT · Finite element modelling · Machine learning and deep learning · Longitudinal analysis
JOIN THE LAB
Open Positions
Current listings from MSK Research ↗
Desired student profile
You are curious about how tissues respond to mechanical conditions, enjoy quantitative work, and want to connect methods with biological or clinical questions.
Engineering, computer science, physics, biomedical sciences, and related backgrounds are welcome. Coding or image-analysis experience is useful, but you do not need to know every method already. I value careful work, initiative, and clear communication.
How to apply
For the opportunities listed above, submit your research interests, relevant experience, intended degree and available dates through MSK Research. No student account is required.
View opportunities on MSK Research ↗Graduate students
MSc and PhD applicants from Canada and internationally are welcome. Get in touch to discuss your research interests, the relevant programme, supervision, funding, and application process.
UCalgary graduate admissions ↗Undergraduate students
We welcome enquiries about honours theses, summer research, co-op placements, and research projects for course credit. Share your interests, available dates, and any requirements from your programme.
Visiting students
I am happy to supervise thesis projects from international BSc and MSc students and have experience supervising students across Europe and Asia. Research stays are also welcome.
Please get in touch well in advance of your intended visit to allow enough time for visa arrangements and the visiting-student process.
SOFTWARE & RESOURCES
Research software
FEATURED SOFTWARE · 3D SLICER
Bone Imaging Toolbox for 3D Slicer ↗
A Slicer interface for bone-imaging workflows: image import, segmentation, longitudinal remodelling, microarchitecture, motion grading, and finite element analysis.
SlicerBoneImagingToolbox brings reusable analysis packages into a visual environment for working with bone images. The toolbox connects image processing, batch workflows, and computational analysis rather than requiring a separate interface for every step.
3D SLICER · PYTHON · DEEP LEARNING
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
2026
Annals of Biomedical Engineering
A Combined 1H and 31P Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technique to Assess Bone Matrix and Mineral Densities in Rats with Osteoporosis and Osteomalacia ↗
Victor Babu Kassey, Matthias Walle, Diana Yeritsyan, Jonathan Egan, Angela R. Kassey, Ahmad Hedayatzadeh Razavi, Yaotang Wu, Brian D. Snyder, Edward K. Rodriguez, Jerome L. Ackerman, Ara Nazarian.
Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging
A Postprocessing Software Tool for 1H and 31P MRI Data Analysis ↗
Victor Babu Kassey, Matthias Walle, Jonathan Egan, Daniel V Kassey, Diana Yeritsyan, Yaotang Wu, Brian D. Snyder, Edward K. Rodriguez, Jerome L. Ackerman, Ara Nazarian.
Medical Engineering & Physics
Impact of calibration approach on image quality and volumetric bone mineral density in low-dose chest computed tomography ↗
Bryn E Matheson, Matthias Walle, Steven K Boyd.
JBMR Plus
Open and reproducible research in musculoskeletal imaging: Why it matters and how to implement it with the guidelines of the ORMIR community ↗
Serena Bonaretti, Mojtaba Barzegari, Melissa S. A. M. Bevers, et al. (including Matthias Walle).
npj Microgravity
Early skeletal deteriorations following short-duration spaceflight ↗
Bryn E. Matheson, Matthias Walle, Annabel R Bugbird, Marissa J. F. Rosenberg, Jaime Mateus, Steven K. Boyd.
The Oncologist
Association of immune checkpoint inhibitors with muscle mass and density in patients with melanoma ↗
Susan Ziolkowski, Bryn E Matheson, Steven K Boyd, Matthias Walle, Jasmine Gill, John Walker, Thomas Salopek, Joshua F Baker, Ates Fettahoglu, Carrie Ye.
Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Bone · Book chapter
Clinical advances and technical challenges of quantitative computed tomography ↗
Matthias Walle, Bryn E. Matheson, Steven K. Boyd.
2025
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Assessing the Effects of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Pretreatment Kidney Function on Muscle Mass and Density ↗
Susan Ziolkowski, Bryn E. Matheson, Matthias Walle, Ates Fettahoglu, Michael John Gill, Steven K. Boyd, Carrie Ye
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
Structural alterations during fracture healing lead to void spaces developing in surrounding bone microarchitecture ↗
Danielle E Whittier, Matthias Walle, Penny R Atkins, Caitlyn J Collins, Matthias A Zumstein, Patrik Christen, Kurt Lippuner, Ralph Müller.
GigaScience
Comparing linear and nonlinear finite element models of vertebral strength across the thoracolumbar spine: a benchmark from density-calibrated computed tomography ↗
Matthias Walle, Bryn E Matheson, Steven K Boyd.
OSTEOPOROSIS INTERNATIONAL
Quantifying localized bone loss in clinical computed tomography using void spaces ↗
Annabel R. Bugbird, Bryn E. Matheson, Matthias Walle, Nathan J. Neeteson, Nina Pavlovic, Callie E. Stirling, Danielle E. Whittier, Steven K. Boyd.
NPJ MICROGRAVITY
Recovery of bone microarchitecture and density four years after spaceflight: two case studies ↗
Bryn E. Matheson, Matthias Walle, Anna-Maria Liphardt, Paul A. Hulme, Martina Heer, Sara R. Zwart, Jean D. Sibonga, Scott M. Smith, Leigh Gabel, Steven K. Boyd.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE
Using solid-state MRI and a double-tuned RF coil to quantify bone matrix and mineral densities in rat bones ↗
Victor B. Kassey, Matthias Walle, Diana Yeritsyan, Daniel V. Kassey, Yaotang Wu, Brian D. Snyder, Edward K. Rodriguez, Jerome L. Ackerman, Ara Nazarian.
2024
Science Advances
Tracking of spaceflight-induced bone remodeling reveals a limited time frame for recovery of resorption sites in humans ↗
Matthias Walle, Leigh Gabel, Danielle E. Whittier, Anna-Maria Liphardt, Paul A. Hulme, Martina Heer, Sara R. Zwart, Scott M. Smith, Jean D. Sibonga, Steven K. Boyd.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
A graph model to describe the network connectivity of trabecular plates and rods ↗
Matthias Walle, Diana Yeritsyan, Mohammadreza Abbasian, Ramin Oftadeh, Ralph Müller, Ara Nazarian.
JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH
Bone remodeling and responsiveness to mechanical stimuli in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus ↗
Matthias Walle, Ankita Duseja, Danielle E Whittier, Tatiane Vilaca, Margaret Paggiosi, Richard Eastell, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J Collins.
BONE
Quantitative 31P magnetic resonance imaging on pathologic rat bones by ZTE at 7T ↗
Victor B. Kassey, Matthias Walle, Jonathan Egan, Diana Yeritsyan, Indeevar Beeram, Yaotang Wu, Brian D. Snyder, Edward K. Rodriguez, Jerome L. Ackerman, Ara Nazarian.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
Quantitative 1H Magnetic Resonance Imaging on Normal and Pathologic Rat Bones by Solid-State 1H ZTE Sequence with Water and Fat Suppression ↗
Víctor B. Kassey, Matthias Walle, Jonathan Egan, Diana Yeritsyan, Indeevar Beeram, Sharon P. Kassey, Yaotang Wu, Brian D. Snyder, Edward K. Rodriguez, Jerome L. Ackerman, Ara Nazarian.
Earlier publications · 2023, 2022, 2021
2023
BONE
A multi-stack registration technique to improve measurement accuracy and precision across longitudinal HR-pQCT scans ↗
Danielle E. Whittier, Matthias Walle, Denis Schenk, Penny R. Atkins, Caitlyn J. Collins, Philippe Zysset, Kurt Lippuner, Ralph Müller.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Mechanostat parameters estimated from time-lapsed in vivo micro-computed tomography data of mechanically driven bone adaptation are logarithmically dependent on loading frequency ↗
Francisco C. Marques, Daniele Boaretti, Matthias Walle, Ariane C. Scheuren, Friederike A. Schulte, Ralph Müller.
BONE
Motion grading of high-resolution quantitative computed tomography supported by deep convolutional neural networks ↗
Matthias Walle, Dominic Eggemann, Penny R. Atkins, Jack J. Kendall, Kerstin Stock, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J. Collins.
BONE
Precision of bone mechanoregulation assessment in humans using longitudinal high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography in vivo ↗
Matthias Walle, Danielle E. Whittier, Denis Schenk, Penny R. Atkins, Michael Blauth, Philippe Zysset, Kurt Lippuner, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J. Collins.
2022
Bone Reports
HR-pQCT Measures of Bone Microarchitecture in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis ↗
Matthias Walle, Danielle E. Whittier, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J. Collins
CURRENT OSTEOPOROSIS REPORTS
Meta-analysis of Diabetes Mellitus-Associated Differences in Bone Structure Assessed by High-Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography ↗
Matthias Walle, Danielle E. Whittier, Morten Frost, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J. Collins.
2021
Bone Reports
Tissue-level mechanical stimuli drive bone formation and resorption in humans and mice ↗
Matthias Walle, Francisco Correia Marques, Nicholas Ohs, Michael Blauth, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J. Collins
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Application of subject-specific adaptive mechanical loading for bone healing in a mouse tail vertebral defect ↗
Angad Malhotra, Matthias Walle, Graeme R. Paul, Gisela A. Kuhn, Ralph Müller.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Bone Mechanoregulation Allows Subject-Specific Load Estimation Based on Time-Lapsed Micro-CT and HR-pQCT in Vivo ↗
Matthias Walle, Francisco C. Marques, Nicholas Ohs, Michael Blauth, Ralph Müller, Caitlyn J. Collins.
PEOPLE
People
Principal Investigator · Assistant Professor
Matthias Walle, PhD
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of Calgary. Our lab is based in the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. I work at the intersection of medical imaging, computational modelling, and musculoskeletal research. My research examines how the mechanical environment influences tissue behaviour using imaging and simulation methods.
I completed my PhD at ETH Zurich, where I received the ETH Medal for my work on bone health in diabetes and developed methods to study bone adaptation using longitudinal high-resolution imaging. At the University of Calgary, I combine medical imaging, finite element modelling, and machine learning to study bone metastases, spinal alignment, and bone mechanobiology.
My work spans method development, clinical applications, and open research software, including the Bone Imaging Toolbox for 3D Slicer. Students can work across these areas, from developing an analysis method to using it to address a biological or clinical question.
Education & research training
- Bachelor's degree — Technical University of Munich (TUM).
- Master's thesis — Harvard Medical School.
- PhD — ETH Zurich. Awarded the ETH Medal.
RESEARCH CONNECTIONS
Research connections
65 institutions · 33 indexed works · Updated 2026-10-02 · OpenAlex
Select an institution to explore its publications.
Locations reflect institutional affiliations recorded on papers, not necessarily current workplaces or active lab partnerships. Publication databases can contain missing or incorrect records. Suggest a correction ↗
Browse the institution list
- ETH Zurich · Zurich · 17 shared works
- Institute for Biomechanics · Zurich · 15 shared works
- University of Calgary · Calgary · 12 shared works
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center · Boston · 6 shared works
- Harvard University · Cambridge · 6 shared works
- Virginia Tech · Blacksburg · 6 shared works
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging · Boston · 5 shared works
- Boston Children's Hospital · Boston · 5 shared works
- Innsbruck Medical University · Innsbruck · 5 shared works
- Massachusetts General Hospital · Boston · 5 shared works
- University of Bern · Bern · 5 shared works
- Yerevan State Medical University · Yerevan · 5 shared works
- University Hospital Innsbruck · Innsbruck · 4 shared works
- University Hospital of Bern · Bern · 4 shared works
- Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology · Cambridge · 3 shared works
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge · 3 shared works
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg · Erlangen · 2 shared works
- IU International University of Applied Sciences · Erfurt · 2 shared works
- Johnson Space Center · Houston · 2 shared works
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Washington · 2 shared works
- Stanford University · Stanford · 2 shared works
- The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston · Galveston · 2 shared works
- Universität Innsbruck · Innsbruck · 2 shared works
- Universitätsklinikum Erlangen · Erlangen · 2 shared works
- University of Bonn · Bonn · 2 shared works
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute · Calgary · 1 shared works
- Austin Health · Melbourne · 1 shared works
- Boston University · Boston · 1 shared works
- Dartmouth College · Hanover · 1 shared works
- Dublin City University · Dublin · 1 shared works
- Eindhoven University of Technology · Eindhoven · 1 shared works
- Erasmus MC · Rotterdam · 1 shared works
- FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland · Windisch · 1 shared works
- Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli · Bologna · 1 shared works
- Kitware (United States) · New York · 1 shared works
- Klinik Sonnenhof · Bern · 1 shared works
- KU Leuven · Leuven · 1 shared works
- Lund University · Lund · 1 shared works
- Maastricht University · Maastricht · 1 shared works
- Macquarie University · Sydney · 1 shared works
- McGill University · Montreal · 1 shared works
- Odense University Hospital · Odense · 1 shared works
- Paul Scherrer Institute · Villigen · 1 shared works
- Philadelphia VA Medical Center · Philadelphia · 1 shared works
- Purdue University West Lafayette · West Lafayette · 1 shared works
- Radboud University Medical Center · Nijmegen · 1 shared works
- Schroeder Arthritis Institute · Toronto · 1 shared works
- Schulthess-Klinik · Zurich · 1 shared works
- Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada · Montreal · 1 shared works
- SpaceX (United States) · Hawthorne · 1 shared works
- Stiftung FHNW · Windisch · 1 shared works
- The University of Melbourne · Melbourne · 1 shared works
- University Health Network · Toronto · 1 shared works
- University of Alberta · Edmonton · 1 shared works
- University of Applied Sciences Erfurt · Erfurt · 1 shared works
- University of Basel · Basel · 1 shared works
- University of California, San Francisco · San Francisco · 1 shared works
- University of Padua · Padua · 1 shared works
- University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia · 1 shared works
- University of Portsmouth · Portsmouth · 1 shared works
- University of Sheffield · Sheffield · 1 shared works
- University of Southern Denmark · Odense · 1 shared works
- University of Toronto · Toronto · 1 shared works
- University of Utah · Salt Lake City · 1 shared works
- VieCuri Medisch Centrum · Venlo · 1 shared works
OUTREACH & COMMUNITY
Media & outreach
RADIO · NDR INFO · GERMAN
What space missions teach us about bone loss ↗
January 2025
An interview on bone loss during spaceflight and what it can teach us about skeletal health on Earth.
With G. Meyer, A. Liphardt, and Matthias Walle.
RADIO · DEUTSCHLANDFUNK · GERMAN
Bone research in space ↗
January 2025
A Forschung aktuell broadcast on spaceflight and bone health.
Knochenjob Weltall und Himmliche Highlights 2025. With G. Meyer, A. Liphardt, and Matthias Walle.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT · UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Bone health research: navigating a difficult ‘joint’ venture
September 2024
Matthias's winning entry in Humour us!, a knowledge-translation-through-comedy competition.
STUDENT OUTREACH · MIT MITES
Effects of microgravity on bone health
July 2024
An interview with R. Mitchell and Matthias Walle for MIT's Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science programme.
WEBINAR · FIDELIO
Time-lapsed HR-pQCT and bone mechanoregulation ↗
December 2022
Matthias discusses longitudinal imaging and methods for studying bone adaptation.
INTERVIEW · IFMRS HUBLE
Denosumab and circulating microRNAs ↗
May 2022
A HubLE Exchange interview with David Carro-Vazquez on changes in circulating microRNAs after two years of denosumab treatment in postmenopausal women.
INTERVIEW · IFMRS HUBLE
Bone phenotype in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes ↗
May 2022
A HubLE Exchange interview with Lejla Emini on characterizing bone in a polygenetic mouse model of type 2 diabetes.
PROJECT VIDEO
Mechanobiology in diabetes patients ↗
February 2022
A project video introducing Matthias's research on bone mechanobiology in diabetes.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT · SCIENTIFICA
Bone biomechanics at Zurich Science Days ↗
September 2021
Laboratory demonstrations and tours introducing children and teenagers to bone biomechanics and simulations of cellular processes.
ARTICLE · ETH GLOBE
Insights into bone processes ↗
September 2021
An ETH Globe contribution with C. Ledoux, Matthias Walle, R. Müller, and C. J. Collins.
INTERVIEW · IFMRS HUBLE
Mechanical stimuli and bone remodelling ↗
June 2021
A HubLE Exchange interview with C. Møller Andreasen and Matthias Walle on tissue-level mechanical stimuli, bone formation, and resorption in humans and mice.
OPEN SCIENCE · ORMIR
Open and reproducible MSK imaging ↗
Contributing to community guidance for open and reproducible computational research in musculoskeletal imaging.
Matthias is a co-author of the ORMIR community's 2026 paper on open and reproducible musculoskeletal imaging research. Shared methods, documented workflows, and reusable software are part of how we work.
COMMUNITY · ORMIR WORKSHOP
Making imaging data easier to use ↗
Coordinating the ScancoIO data-format-converter working group at the second ORMIR workshop in 2024.
Practical work on data-format conversion helps make imaging workflows accessible across software environments and research groups.
CONTACT