Contact Professor Peter Zioupos

Areas of expertise

  • Ageing & Chronic Disease
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Human Factors for Defence

Background

Education

DSc: Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Strathclyde University (2007); 'Composite aspects of basic bone biomechanics: structure/function relationships and applications'.
PhD: Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Strathclyde University (1989); Tissue mechanics of Bioprosthetic heart valves.
BSc: Physics, University of Ioannina Greece (1983)


Peter joined Cranfield University as a lecturer in 1997 after appointments in the universities of Strathclyde and York. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2001, Reader in 2007 and Professor in 2015. He has served as Academic Leader of the Applied Science BSc course (2002 to 2005) and the Forensic Engineering and Science MSc course (2005 to 2009).  

He has served as the 'Course Director of the MSc in Forensic Investigation' for the past 5 years and he is currently the Module Leader for two core modules of the Forensic Modular Masters Programme: 'Court Room Skills for Forensic Scientists' and 'Reasoning in Forensic Science'. 

Peter's most recent work was on the influence of varying strain rate on the properties of bone. In this he has published in 2020 in BONE a paradigm shifting paper showing that the fragility of ageing bone in particular is a result of a ductile-to-brittle-transition (DBT) which shifts to lower strain rates for older individuals. The cause of this effect is biophysical in its nature and shows that the so called 'bone properties' can only be understood in the context of its history and its environment both mechanical and ambient. The content and context of this new way of looking at bone fracture as a 'dynamic' material which experiences failure in a 'stochastic' manner were presented in a special issue of the journal BONE https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/bone/special-issue/10VZ6CMZR77 (link) and in a WEBINAR (19 Nov 2020) given in memory of the late JD Currey for JMBBM (J Mechanical Properties of Biomedical Materials) and can be watched in YouTube: https://youtu.be/BuYBImaAc28 (link) 

Peter is also active in forensics and offers consultancy in legal cases regarding lethal or otherwise trauma, which involves primarily bone injuries. He has developed a patent for the  Forensic determination of age at time of death by analytical laboratory examination of bone matrix. He offers consultancy to industry via nanoindentation studies on various health care products, on anodising layers, design of test chambers and testing standards. He has appeared in TV documentaries: one for Discovery Channel on "free fall" accidents, and a second for National Geographic on the circumstances surrounding the unexpected "death of King Tutankhamen".  A more recent presentation was in BBC2 the 'AUTUMNWATCH' programme (31 October 2019). Peter was interviewed by Chris Packham on the comparative properties of bone and antler material. A structure/function link was made on screen between the gross anatomy and material properties of these two very different kinds of bone and their function/performance in life.  

Research opportunities

The staff and research fellows of the 'Musculoskeletal & Medicolegal Research Group' welcome any like minded colleagues who wish to visit, collaborate with us, or use our unique facilities, either through research programmes, exchange visits, or sabbaticals. 

Current activities

Peter Zioupos leads the activities of the Musculoskeletal and Medicolegal Research Group (MMRG) and the Biomechanics Laboratories at Shrivenham. He specialises on hard and soft tissue biomechanics research, which can be of either (or both) basic or applied nature.

Peter is very active within the community of the European Society of Biomechanics. He has served as a Vice-President of the European Society of Biomechanics (2012-14) and was first elected to the Council in July 2006. He served as Chair of the ‘Education Committee' (2006-08) and then as Chair of the ‘Meetings Committee' (2008-12).

He is a Visiting Professor of the Institute of Future Transport & Cities of Coventry University (Nov 2020).

Peter was elected a Fellow of the IPEM (Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine) in 2009 of which he has been a member since the late 1980s. The IPEM is the official body of all Medical Physicists and Biological engineers in the UK with about 5000 members in various grades and a few Fellows.

In 2008, he was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Science by the Senate of Strathclyde University following the recommendation by the Higher Doctorates Committee for his work on ‘ Composite aspects of basic bone biomechanics: structure/function relationships and applications'. Over the past 20 years he has published over 100 peer review articles in this specialised topic, gathering over 5800 citations. 13 papers, in particular, are now ‘classics' in the field of basic bone biomechanics with more than 100 citations each.

Peter Zioupos' Hirsch factor (h* index) currently stands at 38.  He is listed in the top 1% world ranking of research active scientists https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/2 (link)

He is in the Editorial advisory board of the Journal of Biomechanics (ELSEVIER) and the Editorial boards of the Journal of Mechanical Behaviour of Biomedical Materials (ELSEVIER), Journal of Bionic Engineering (SPRINGER), and LIFE (MDPI).

He was the guest editor for a Special issue of the 'Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials' on ‘Forensic Biomechanics’ (May 2014) which presents a good choice of papers across a range of applications in the field of Medicolegal Biomechanics.

Clients

  • EPSRC
  • The Royal Society
  • NATO
  • AFOSR
  • Wellcome Trust
  • TRL
  • Department of Transport
  • Royal Centre for Defence Medicine

Publications

Articles In Journals

Conference Papers

  • Greenwood C, Clement J, Dicken A, Evans P, Lyburn I, Martin R, Stone N, Zioupos P & Rogers K (2018) Point-of-care high accuracy fracture risk prediction for osteoporosis. In: Osteoporosis Conference 2018, Birmingham, 2-4 December 2018.
  • McGivern H, Greenwood C, Marquez-Grant N & Zioupos P (2018) Getting to the bare bones of the age –related changes to the mechanical and structural properties of the clavicle. In: Bone Research Society (BRS) Annual Meeting, Stripe Building, King Alfred Campus, University of Winchester, Winchester, 27-29 June 2018.
  • Franceskides C, Arnold E, Horsfall I, Clasper J, Tozzi G & Zioupos P (2017) 3D printing, the future of cost effective biomechanical testing. In: SAFE Europe Symposium 2017, Amsterdam, 3-6 April 2017.
  • Bonicelli A, Zioupos P, Xhemali B & Kranioti EF (2016) Determining ‘Age at Death’: a new multidisciplinary laboratory method based on ribs. In: 22nd Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2016), Lyon, 10-13 July 2016.
  • Gibson MC, Franceskides C & Zioupos P (2016) Simulated impact response of a 3-D printed skull, with an ellipsoidal excision, using finite element analysis. In: 22nd Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2016), Lyon, 10-13 July 2016.
  • Greenwood C, Clement JG, Dicken AJ, Evans JPO, Lyburn ID, Martin RM, Rogers KD, Stone N, Adams G & Zioupos P (2016) Fracture toughness of the cancellous bone of FNF femoral heads in relation to its microarchitecture. In: 22nd Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2016), Lyon, 10-13 July 2016.
  • Adams GK, Cook RB & Zioupos P (2016) Predictions for the fracture toughness of cancellous bone of fracture neck of femur patients. In: 22nd Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2016), Lyon, 10-13 July 2016.
  • Wood D, Appleby-Thomas G, Fitzmaurice B, Franceskides C, Shanker T, Zioupos P & Samra A (2016) On the shock behaviour and response of Ovis Aries vertebrae. In: 22nd Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2016), Lyon, 10-13 July 2016.
  • Zioupos P (2016) Forensic evidence from Bone. In: Forensics Europe EXPO, London, 19-20 April 2016.
  • Shanker T, Franceskides C, Gibson M, Clasper J, Adams G & Zioupos P (2016) Effects of μCT and FE resolution in expressing anisotropic properties in vertebral cancellous bone. In: 51st UK Conference on Human Responses to Vibration, Gosport, 14-15 September 2016.
  • Greenwood C, Rogers K, Dicken A, Evans P, Clement J, Lyburn I, Martin R, Zioupos P & Stone N (2016) Bone ultrastructure and architecture: the role of bone quality in fracture prediction. In: World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, Malaga, 14-16 April 2016.
  • Franceskides C, Leger T, Horsfall I, Shanker T, Adams GJ , Clasper J & Zioupos P (2016) Evaluation of bone excision on occipital area of simulated human skull. In: 22nd Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2016), Lyon, 10-13 July 2016.
  • Hudson R, Moniruzzaman M, Zioupos P & Gill P (2015) Investigation of reduced sensitivity RDX. In: 2nd International Workshop on Advances in Solid Propellant Systems (IWAPS 2015), Pune, 12-13 March 2015.
  • Dall'Ara E, Grabowski P, Zioupos P & Viceconti M (2015) Bone anisotropy measured with Depth sensing Micro-Indentation and Reference Point Indentation. In: 21st Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics, Prague, 5 July 2015.
  • Adams G, Cook RB, Hutchinson J & Zioupos P (2015) Micro-CT values versus material properties of bone over a very broad range of mineralisation levels. In: 21st Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics, Prague, 5 July 2015.
  • Mohamad NS, Tong J, Gorecki D, Guille M, Zioupos P, (2015) Morphological, mechanical and bone tissue properties of DMD and treated mouse bones. In: 21st Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics, Prague, 5 July 2015.
  • Adams, G, Cook RB, Greenwood C, Rogers KD & Zioupos P (2015) Fracture toughness of cancellous bone: predictions from micro-CT values. In: 21st Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics, Prague, 5 July 2015.
  • Franceskides C, Shanker T, Gibson M, Clasper J & Zioupos P (2015) Input Optimisation for FEA of trabecular bone anisotropy in human thoracic-lumbar vertebrae. In: 13th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering (CMBBE), Montreal, 1 September 2015.
  • Zioupos P (2015) High strain rate effects and brittleness of bone and what the biophysical nature of bone can tell us for the effects observed at the macro-scale. In: XXV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Glasgow, 12 July 2015.
  • Adams G, Cook R, Hutchinson J & Zioupos P (2015) The importance of thresholding in micro-CT for the histomorphometric analysis of mammalian bone tissue. In: XXV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Glasgow, 12 July 2015.
  • Crawford SR., Burden A, Yates JM, Zioupos P, Winwood K, (2014) Facial Bone Mineral Density: A potential indicator for at risk injury groups. In: International Sports Science + Sports Medicine, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, 19-21 August 2014.
  • Adams G, Cook R, Hutchinson J, Zioupos P, (2014) Bone surface distribution across a wide porosity range in mammalian bone tissue. In: 7th World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB 2014), Boston, 6 July 2014.
  • Zioupos P, Kirchner HO, (2014) Fracture of human bone from the biophysical level: the strain rate dependent ductile to brittle transition that shifts with age is linked to transient effects for stress relaxation of the bone collagen and mineral. In: 6th Conference Elemvio, Patras, 10 October 2014.
  • Crawford SR, Burden A, Yates JM, Zioupos P & Winwood K (2014) The relationship between sex and age on mandibular bone mineral density and key anatomical sites as a potential key indicator for the use of facial sports protection. In: Bone Research Society Annual Meeting 2014, Sheffield, 25 June 2014.
  • Armstrong JR, Greenwood C, Rogers KD & Zioupos P (2014) Assessment of the physicochemical modifications to bone mineral caused by storage protocols. In: 7th World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB 2014), Boston, 6 July 2014.
  • Zioupos P, Cook R, Aspden RM & Coats AM (2008) Bone quality issues and matrix properties in OP cancellous bone. In: 2nd Conference on Applied Biomechanics: Medicine Meets Engineering, Regensburg, 13-15 June 2008.
  • Zioupos P (2007) Material Property Changes in Osteoporotic Cancellous Bone. In: IMechE Seminar Material Properties for Finite Element Simulations, IMechE Headquarters, London.
  • Peterlik H, Puchegger S, Rennhofer H, Loidl D, Stoll J, Zioupos P & Bernstorff S (2006) Relaxation of human bone at the nanoscale. In: Anniversary symposium: 10 years Austrian SAXS station at Elettra, SAXS on nanosystems - science and technology, Trieste, 23 November 2006.
  • Zioupos P (2006) Determination of "age at death" by laboratory based analytical methods for forensic purposes using human bone". In: 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany.
  • Peterlik H, Puchegger S, Rennhofer H, Loidl D, Stoll J, Zioupos P & Bernstorff S (2006) Relaxation of human bone at the nanoscale. In: 2nd Viennese biomaterials symposium, Vienna, 22 November 2006.
  • Cook RB, Zioupos P, Curwen C & Tasker T (2006) Cancellous fracture toughness and compressive properties at the head of the femur vs. peripheral quantitative ultrasound measurements. In: 1st European Symposium on Ultrasonic Characterization of Bone , Paris, France.
  • Zioupos P, Cook R, Collins D & Tucker J (2006) The predictive ability of two quantitative Ultrasound Bone scanners in comparison to DXA. In: ESB 2004, Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 4-7 July 2006.
  • Zioupos P (2005) Age related changes of bone's material properties. In: Harold M Frost Memorial Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 3 May 2005.
  • Zioupos P, Christodoulou G, Giles R & Williams A (2005) A Laboratory method to determine 'age of death' for forensic purposes using human bone. In: Forensic Science and Investigation of Atrocity Crimes and Mass Fatalities, Inforce Foundation, Bournemouth University UK.
  • Hardy R, Watson J, Frampton R, Page M, Zioupos P, Cook R, Kennedy A, Sproston P, Forrester B & Peach S BOSCOS - Development and benefits of a Bone Scanning system. In: 2005 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact, Prague, 21 September 2005.
  • Zioupos P, Christodoulou G, Giles R & Williams A (2005) An Analytical Method to determine 'Age of Death' for Forensic Purposes using Human Bone. In: 17th Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences, Hong Kong.
  • Zioupos P, Blythe A & Tasker T (2004) Mechanical performance and reliability of two different methods of suturing semitendinosus grafts for ACL reconstructions. In: ESB 2004, Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 4-7 July 2004.
  • Zioupos P, Gresle M & Winwood K (2004) Microstructural and physical characteristics effects on the fatigue strength of human cortical bone. In: ESB 2004, Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 4 July 2004.
  • Zioupos P, Alba-Fernandez C & Casinos A (2004) Nanoindentation characterization of dolphin bones: a possible model for osteoporosis?. In: ESB 2004, Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 4 July 2004.
  • Zioupos P (2004) In-vivo fatigue microcracks in human bone: material properties of the surrounding bone matrix. In: ESB 2004, Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 4 July 2004.
  • Zioupos P & Currey JD (2004) Notch sensitivity of vertebrate mineralised tissues in impact: an adaptive reason for a lower limit of mineralisation?. In: ESB 2004, 4-7 July 2004, Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 4 July 2004.
  • Zioupos P (2004) Assessment of bone matrix at sites of in-vivo fatigue microcracks by nanoindentation. In: 16th International Bone Densitometry workshop, Annecy, France, 20 June 2004.
  • Zioupos P, Hardy R, Watson J & Cook R (2004) BOSCOS - Bone Scanning for Occupant Safety. In: Vehicle Safety 2004, One Birdcage Walk, London, 14 December 2004.
  • Zioupos P, Cook RB & Collins D (2004) Comparison of Patient Screening Techniques for Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). In: 10th Conference on Osteoporosis, Harrowgate UK, 28 November - 1 December 2004.
  • Zioupos P & Winwood K (2004) Rates of Development of elastic and plastic strains during fatigue of human cortical bone in tension, compression and shear. In: ESB 2004, Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 4 July 2004.
  • Zioupos P, Cotton JR, Winwood K & Taylor M (2003) Relationship between cycles to failure and rates of damage and creep in fatigue tests of human cortical bone. In: ASME 2003 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Sonesta Beach, Key Biscayne, Florida, USA, 25 June 2003.
  • Zioupos P, Fernandez C & Casinos A (2003) Geometry and mechanics in dolphin bones. A possible model for osteoporosis. In: Experimental Biology, Ann. Main Meeting, Southampton, UK, 1 April 2003.
  • Zioupos P, Blythe A & Tasker TPB (2003) Mechanical Performance of Two Different Methods of Suturing Semitendinosus Grafts for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. In: The British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) annual meeting, Low Wood Hotel, Lake Windermere, 4-5 April 2003.
  • Zioupos P, Cook R, Collins D & Curwen C (2003) Comparison of inter-site bone densitometry measurements and the short-term precision of two bone quantitative ultrasound scanners. In: IPEM Annual Scientific Meeting, 15-17 September 2003, University of Bath, Bath UK, 15 September 2003.
  • Zioupos P, Blythe A & Tasker TPB (2003) Mechanical Performance of Two Different Methods of Suturing Semitendinosus Grafts for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. In: IPEM annual Scientific Meeting, Bath, 15-17 September 2003.
  • Zioupos P, Cotton JR, Winwood K & Taylor M (2002) Nonlinear damage Theory applied to two-step fatigue failure prediction of bone.. In: 4th World Congress of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada, 4 August 2002.
  • Zioupos P, Casinos A & Winwood K (2002) In-plane shear strength and fatigue damage properties of laminar bone. In: 13th Eur. Soc. Biomech. Conf., Wroclaw, Poland, 1 September 2002.
  • Zioupos P, Winwood K, Cotton J & Taylor M (2002) The development of elastic and 'plastic' strains during fatigue damage accumulation of human cortical bone. In: 13th Eur. Soc. Biomech. Conf., Wroclaw, Poland, 1 September 2002.
  • Zioupos P, Aspden RM & Coats AM (2002) Material property issues in OP cancellous bone. In: 13th Eur. Soc. Biomech. Conf.,, Wroclaw, Poland, 1 September 2002.
  • Zioupos P, Cotton JR, Winwood K & Taylor M (2002) Creep formulation of strain accumulation during tensile fatigue of cortical bone. In: 4th World Congress of Biomechanics, Calgary, Canada, 4 August 2002.
  • Zioupos P, Cotton JR & Taylor M (2001) Simulation of Material Property Evolution of Cortical Bone in Fatigue Bending and its Implications on Cancellous Bone. In: XVIII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Zurich, Switzerland, 8 July 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Winwood K & Wise V (2001) Material property changes in bovine bone following various physicochemical treatments. In: XVIII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Zurich, Switzerland, 8 July 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Taylor M & Cotton J (2001) A Stochastic approach to simulate the variable fatigue life of cortical bone using combined CDM and FE method. In: 16th Eur. Conf. of Eur. Soc. Biomaterials, London, UK, 12 September 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Winwood K, Cotton JR & Taylor M (2001) The development of 'plastic' and elastic strains in fatigue of femoral cortical bone: a possible contributor to implant failure.. In: Biological Mechanics Network 2001, Oswestry, UK, 15 November 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Cotton J, Winwood K, Anderson P & Taylor M (2001) Static FEA of cortical bone tensile test samples with variations in modulus identified from micro-CT scans.. In: 16th Eur. Conf. of Eur. Soc. Biomaterials, London, UK, 12 September 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Winwood K, Rogers KD & Wise V (2001) Mechanical and Material property changes in bovine cortical bone subject to various physicochemical treatments. In: 16th Eur. Conf. of Eur. Soc. Biomaterials, London, UK, 12 September 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Aspden RM, Rogers KD, Noriega E & Wise V (2001) Material quality aspects of osteoporotic cancellous bone. In: XVIII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Zurich, Switzerland, 8 July 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Winwood K, Cotton J & Taylor M (2001) The development of 'plastic' strains during fatigue damage accumulation. In: XVIII Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, Zurich, Switzerland, 8 July 2001.
  • Zioupos P, Winwood K, Cotton J & Taylor M (2001) Measurements of 'plastic and elastic strains during tension or compression fatigue of ageing human cortical bone.. In: 16th Eur. Conf. of Eur. Soc. Biomaterials, London, UK, 12 September 2001.
  • Barbenel JC, Zioupos P & Fisher J (1986) The mechanical properties of bovine pericardium. In: Heart valve engineering, London, 4 December 1986.
  • Zioupos P, Alba-Fernandez C & Casinos A Ontogenetic scaling of cross-sectional parameters in striped dolphin and Franciscana dolphin radius. In: International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Jena, Germany.
  • Zioupos P, Hansen U & Currey J The development of microdamage as a function of strain rate in human cortical bone. In: 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany.
  • Zioupos P, Cotton JR & Taylor M Simulated Material property degradation during Fatigue of human Cancellous bone, as modelled by a regular Honeycomb Structure. In: ASME 2001 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Snowbird, UT, 27 June - 1 July 2001.
  • Sedman A, Currey J & Zioupos P The fracture process in mineralised tissues visualised by whitening, an indicator of microdamage. In: 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany.
  • Cook RB, Zioupos P, Curwen C & Tasker T Using peripheral qualitative ultrasound to predict Fracture Mechanics and compressive. In: 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany.
  • Zioupos P & Rogers KD Examining Tooth - a bone like tissue - by nanoindentation and micro-XRD in a complementary mode. In: CAMTEC Workshop, Dept of Materials Science and Metallurgy, of University of Cambridge.

Books

  • Zioupos P, Watson J, Hardy RN, Frampton O, Williams P, Cook AJ, Kennedy P, Sproston P, Forrester S & Peach S (2004) BOSCOS Bone Scanning for Occupant Safety. In: Special Issue of Vehicle Safety 2004, Inst. Mech. Eng. Conference, London 2004.
  • Zioupos P, Currey JD & Rho JY (2004) Bones: the need for intrinsic material and architectural design. In: Optimisation Mechanics in Nature, Design & Nature Series, WIT Press 2004, p. 93-117.