Welcome to the Chiari Neurobiomechanics Research Laboratory (CNRL) at Northeastern University. The CNRL conducts studies to understand how biomechanics impacts neural tissue with a special focus on Chiari malformation Type I (CMI). We aim to determine how the altered biomechanical environment in CMI may induce pathophysiological responses and ultimately symptoms.
Our group has been conducting computational and experimental techniques to quantify the biomechanical environment in the brain for healthy controls and for patients with Chiari malformation.
Our lab is located on the 5th floor of The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC), Room 565. Student offices are in the same lab area — stop by to learn more about our research.
Investigating CMI pathophysiology and the biomechanical mechanisms driving symptoms
Quantifying cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and cardiac-induced brain tissue motion
Combined approaches to characterize biomechanical environments in health and disease
Recent highlights from the lab
Mahsa Karamzadeh, PhD '27, bioengineering, blends her passion for engineering and call to service to fuel her research. Recently, Karamzadeh and her team published their study on Chiari Type 1 patients in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging journal.
Read full story →Hannah Higgins, PhD '29, bioengineering, values her role as a patient-scientist because it allows her to connect with other CMI patients, ease their lab experiences, and translate complex research findings into terms digestible from a patient's perspective.
Read full story →In collaboration with the CSF Bobby Jones Foundation, Northeastern will host an Open House for Chiari research with members of the public, patients with CMI, neurosurgeons, and researchers in attendance. Please join us!
Learn more →The CNRL team at Northeastern University
Director · Professor, Mechanical and Bioengineering Departments
Dr. Loth received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in the area of biofluids from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1993, and has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Akron, and most recently Northeastern University, where he is a Professor jointly appointed in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Bioengineering. His research spans biological flows, experimental and computational fluid mechanics, blood flow simulation, cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, Chiari malformation, syringomyelia, and medical image processing. He has been a leading figure in applying engineering analysis to understand CSF hydrodynamics in craniospinal disorders.
PhD Student · Bioengineering
Mahsa joined the lab in January 2023. Her research focuses on analyzing MRI data across different modalities (pcMRI, DENSE, real-time) in both healthy volunteers and patients with Chiari malformation. The goal is to identify differences between these two groups and to discover biomarkers that can better explain the symptomatology of Chiari patients.
M.S. in Bioengineering · Northeastern University
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering · Sharif University of Technology
Hometown: Isfahan, Iran
PhD Student · Bioengineering
Hannah joined the lab in September 2025 and is an NSF GRFP Fellow. Her research focuses on analyzing the waveform morphology of cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue motion and the cellular content of tissues in healthy volunteers and patients with Chiari Malformation.
B.S. in Biomedical Engineering · Mercer University
Hometown: Fayetteville, Georgia, USA
PhD Student · Mechanical Engineering
Yeqing joined the lab in May 2026. His research focuses on comparing the brain vibration behavior of healthy subjects and Chiari malformation patients using MRI-based finite element modeling and modal analysis. He is also involved in head impact, where he studies how impact loading is transferred through the helmet–head system and injury-related mechanical responses differ between normal subjects and patients.
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering · Columbia University
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering · Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Hometown: HangZhou, ZheJiang, China
Masters Student · Computer Science
Undergraduate Student · Mechanical Engineering & Computer Science
Undergraduate Student
Undergraduate Student · Data Science & Economics
Ian joined the lab in September 2025. His work has included contributions to the B.R.A.I.N. Chiari Imaging dashboard, which aims to improve the group's data interaction capabilities for the ABC and Chiari 1000 MRI datasets.
Pursuing B.S. in Data Science & Economics · Northeastern University, Expected Graduation 2028
Hometown: Hanover, NH
Undergraduate Student
Current and recent research funding
The goal of this project is to examine and summarize journal papers reporting surgical success of posterior fossa decompression surgery in Chiari patients from 2011 to 2026. Specific data extracted from each study will be organized into a spreadsheet for a searchable database to make this information more accessible. In addition, this database will also include success rates for non-surgical therapeutic methods for comparison.
The objectives of this project are to apply 3D landmark-based morphometrics to assess the morphological features characterizing the Chiari malformation occipital bone and correlate these variables with symptoms.
To create a platform for CM patients to obtain detailed magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at Northeastern University that is comprised of anatomic, biomechanical, and physiological measures. These images are critical to further elucidate the cause of CM symptomatology as well as guide clinical management. This imaging will be used to quantify the biomechanical environment at the cranio-cervical junction for CM subjects as decompression surgery is a procedure intended to change the biomechanics to a more favorable condition.
This project involves three specific research examinations: 1) Develop methodology to characterize the morphometrics of the occipital condyles, the facet joints on the atlas, and the alignment of C1/C2/odontoid in CMI patients as compared to healthy controls. 2) Develop a combined measure of anatomical restriction (resistance to CSF motion) and cervical CSF space compliance to determine if it is correlated with cardiac induced motion of the cerebellum, brainstem, and/or spinal cord as measured by magnetic resonance imaging. 3) Use ultrasound to examine the Myodural bridge complex (MDBC) of adult CMI patients and healthy controls. Conduct detailed biomechanical assessment and histology of the MDBC tissue samples from the CMI patients who underwent surgery.
Selected journal papers — also see the full PubMed list and Google Scholar list.
We are located in the Northeastern University Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC).
Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC)
5th Floor, Room 565
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115
Francis Loth
360 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
ISEC Room 524
