Dr. Kristen Nicholson - Biomechanist - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Dr. Kristen Nicholson

Title:
Biomechanist
Email:

Kristen Nicholson, PhD, joined the Wake Forest pitching lab staff in October 2018 as the director of the lab and lead of biomechanics research. She earned her undergraduate in Mathematical Science from Clemson University in 2010 and her MS and PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Science from the University of Delaware in 2015. Dr. Nicholson wrote her dissertation on a mathematical model for measuring scapular motion and became an expert in upper extremity biomechanics.

While at the University of Delaware, Dr. Nicholson was the project lead on a collaborative project between US Figure Skating, the University of Delaware, and C-Motion (a biomechanical analysis company). The project was designed to facilitate the performance of triple and quad revolution jumps by Olympic and pre-Olympic skaters.

For three years before coming to Winston-Salem, Dr. Nicholson has worked as a biomechanical research engineer at Nemours/A. I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. During this time she augmented her clinical skills while developing her own research interests. She earned an ACCEL Mentored Research Development Award and subsequently secured grant funding from the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Nicholson has a particular interest in the development of non-invasive tools and methods for assessing kinematics and implementing scapular kinematics in baseball pitching.

Dr. Nicholson is currently an Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She has over 20 academic presentations, 15 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, and a book chapter. She is looking forward to leading research in the pitching lab.

Originally from Clover, South Carolina, Dr. Nicholson now resides in Winston Salem with her husband Jefferson.