Cameron R. Bass

Cameron R. Bass

Associate Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Cameron R. 'Dale' Bass is an Associate Research Professor with Duke's Department of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Injury and Othopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory.

A major research focus of Dr. Bass is the study of blast-related brain injury and injury mechanisms. Past research has concentrated air containing organs, such as the lungs and bowel. Results from the limited evidence of over 80 years of experimentation suggested that the brain tolerance for blast was much greater than the pulmonary tolerance for blast. However, recent anecdotal evidence suggests that many soldiers returning from combat have symptoms that are consistent with underlying brain injuries. The etiology for these injuries is unclear and may include a spectrum of sources from blunt impact injuries to post traumatic stress disorder to primary blast injuries.

The primary goals of this research are to:

  • determine injury thresholds for blast brain injury
  • identify injury mechanisms underlying blast brain injury

This research may help reduce the frequency of brain injury caused by blast events, help identify treatments for such injury, and provide the knowledge to develop better protective equipment to protect against such injuries. Many projects involve multi-disciplinary collaborations between BME, Duke University Medical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs, and other major research institutions.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Associate Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Associate Research Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
  • Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D. University of Virginia, 1994
  • B.S. University of Virginia, 1980

Research Interests

Biomechanics of blast, blunt and ballistic trauma and pediatric trauma. His research focuses on injury risk from microscale to macroscale for the head, neck, thorax and extremities.

Courses Taught

  • BME 394: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
  • BME 535: Biomedical Aspects of Blast and Ballistics (GE, BB)
  • BME 590: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering
  • BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
  • BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
  • ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Ortiz-Paparoni, M; Op 't Eynde, J; Kait, J; Bigler, B; Shridharani, J; Schmidt, A; Cox, C; Morino, C; Pintar, F; Yoganandan, N; Moore, J; Zhang, J; Bass, CR, The Human Lumbar Spine During High-Rate Under Seat Loading: A Combined Metric Injury Criteria., Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol 49 no. 11 (2021), pp. 3018-3030 [10.1007/s10439-021-02823-x] [abs].
  • Shridharani, JK; Ortiz-Paparoni, MA; Op 't Eynde, J; Bass, CR, Acoustic emissions in vertebral cortical shell failure., Journal of Biomechanics, vol 117 (2021) [10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110227] [abs].
  • Schmidt, AL; Ortiz-Paparoni, MA; Shridharani, JK; Nightingale, RW; Pintar, FA; Bass, CR, Time and temperature sensitivity of the hybrid III lumbar spine., Traffic Injury Prevention, vol 22 no. 6 (2021), pp. 483-488 [10.1080/15389588.2021.1908543] [abs].
  • Vogel, EW; Panzer, MB; Morales, FN; Varghese, N; Bass, CR; Meaney, DF; Morrison, B, Direct Observation of Low Strain, High Rate Deformation of Cultured Brain Tissue During Primary Blast., Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol 48 no. 4 (2020), pp. 1196-1206 [10.1007/s10439-019-02437-4] [abs].
  • Lindemann, ENSC; Hoang, T; Pierce, E; Franciose, R; Pena, M; Wilson, T; Bass, C; Shattuck, NL; LaPorta, AJ, Efficacy of Medical Operations and Layout Planning Onboard Nontraditional US Navy Vessels at High Seas., Military Medicine, vol 185 no. Suppl 1 (2020), pp. 590-598 [10.1093/milmed/usz227] [abs].