Iris Wechsler at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute

In May 2025, I had the opportunity to visit the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) at the University of Auckland. The institute is located in the Central Business District of Auckland, in the heart of the city. The ABI aims to improve medical diagnosis and treatment of injuries and diseases by applying engineering sciences and technical innovation to medicine and human physiology.

At the ABI, I had the chance to work with Dr. Julie Choisne. She specializes in musculoskeletal modelling and simulation, with a particular focus on developing accurate models of children to improve early assessment and recovery in clinical settings. I was connected with Dr. Choisne through my supervisor, Jörg Miehling, who co-edited a research topic on Human Digital Twins for Medical and Product Engineering with her.

During my research stay, I participated in the team’s weekly group meetings and was in regular exchange with the PhD students and postdocs in Dr. Choisne’s group. I also gave a talk about the EmpkinS project in general and presented my own research within the project. The talk sparked a lively discussion about the overall aims and ideals of EmpkinS, as well as the specific content I had developed during my stay.

Even though three weeks is not a lot of time, I was able to achieve my goal of creating a contact- and ligament-guided knee joint model based on CT data. This model, along with the process used to create it, forms the basis of further research into modelling and analysing personalised knee joint axes in musculoskeletal simulations.

In addition to the academic experience, I also had the opportunity to explore both the city and the surrounding region of Auckland. New Zealand is a beautiful country, and I’m glad I took the time to explore it. I went hiking on an inactive volcano and visited the famous glowworm cave. Of course, I also visited the Hobbit caves!

Overall, my research stay at the ABI was a valuable experience both academically and personally. I learned a lot during my time there. I am grateful for the opportunity and will remember the experience well into the future.