The California Thoroughbred Foundation has awarded the 2022 Louis R. Rowan Fellowship Award to Christina Rohlf, a PhD candidate in the biomedical engineering graduate group at the University of California, Davis.
Since childhood, Christina has been interested in using science and technology to advance veterinary medicine. Therefore, she chose to study biomedical engineering to apply concepts to the development of emerging technologies for use in animal medicine.
In 2015, Christina received a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M University with a focus in musculoskeletal biomechanics. At Texas A&M, she also conducted research investigating the success rate of different toggle pin fixation methods for canine subjects. After graduation, Christina chose to attend graduate school at U.C. Davis because it offered a collaborative biomedical engineering graduate program and a veterinary school, allowing her to simultaneously advance both of her career interests.
As a graduate student Christina has applied biomedical engineering design principles to further the health of equine athletes by fabricating a custom mechanical testing apparatus to monitor arena surface properties as risk factors for musculoskeletal injury. The development of a set of standards for arena surface properties, designed to minimize tendon and ligament injuries of jumping horses, will guide the construction and management of arena surfaces, which can reduce the risk of injury for horses that train and compete on such surfaces.
In her spare time, Christina volunteers 10 hours per week as a mentor for the Woodland High School robotics team. In this capacity, she teaches engineering design principles and teamwork to a group of 30 high school students. After completing her graduate degree, Christina hopes to continue conducting research to understand and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries of animal athletes.