Renoa Choudhury
Faculty Mentor
Robin Queen
L. Preston Wade Professor of Engineering
Research Areas/Interests
Biomechanics, rehabilitation and injury prevention
How long have you been in your postdoctoral position at Virginia Tech?
Began in August 2024
Briefly describe the research project you are working on as a postdoctoral associate at Virginia Tech. What is the problem you are addressing? What is the expected impact of your work?
My research focuses on evaluating functional load symmetry in athletes recovering from Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR) surgery, compared to healthy controls. Despite advances in treatment, nearly 25% of athletes who return to sports after ACLR experience a second ACL injury. This high re-injury rate highlights the limitations of current clinical measures in assessing re-injury risk.
Traditionally, a 90% Limb Symmetry Index (LSI) has been used as a benchmark for determining an athlete’s readiness to return to sports. However, this one-size-fits-all approach does not account for individual factors such as age, sex, or activity level and is not tailored to specific functional tasks. To address this gap, our research aims to determine age- and sex-specific symmetry thresholds for key functional tasks—such as landing, walking, running, and squatting—to inform clinical decision-making for safe return-to-sport.
The expected impact of this work is to identify specific therapeutic targets (i.e., symmetry thresholds) for ACLR rehabilitation. These benchmarks will help clinicians better monitor recovery progress and determine when athletes are ready for a safe return to unrestricted activity, ultimately reducing the re-injury risk.
Why did you choose to pursue postdoctoral training at Virginia Tech?
I am passionate about the biomechanics of the human movement, particularly in rehabilitation and injury prevention. Joining Dr. Robin Queen’s group at the Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Lab felt like the perfect fit for my research interests. Also, Dr. Queen’s long-standing commitment to promoting diversity, advancing women in engineering, and fostering inclusion deeply resonates with me. Representation matters, and having a mentor who champions diversity and gender equity while excelling scientifically has been incredibly inspiring.
Additionally, Virginia Tech provides an amazing environment for postdocs, emphasizing inclusive excellence. The university offers so many great resources for career development, including grant writing workshops, teaching and mentoring opportunities, and networking events- all of which I find very helpful as I prepare for the next stage of my career.
What are your career goals?
My long-term goal is to lead an independent research lab, focused on developing technology-driven, clinically relevant rehabilitation frameworks using a human-centered design approach.
How do you see the resources available to postdoctoral associates at Virginia Tech generally and via this program specifically being helpful to your career and professional development?
I am grateful for the wide range of resources and professional development opportunities available to postdoctoral associates at Virginia Tech. I particularly appreciate how effectively these opportunities—like this program—are communicated within the postdoc community.
Through this program, I aim to improve my communication, grant-writing, and leadership skills while leveraging networking opportunities to advance my career as an independent investigator.