Principal Investigator
B. A.Sc. [Mechanical Engineering] (University of Waterloo), M.A.Sc. [Mechanical Engineering] (University of British Columbia), Ph.D. [Mechanical Engineering] (University of California, Berkeley), Post-Doctoral Fellowship (University of California, San Francisco)
Associate Professor, Mechatronics System Engineering, School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University
Research Interests
Biomaterials; Biomechanics; cost effective health care technologies; finite element methods; Injury prevention; Modeling; patient specific technologies; spinal cord injury mechanics; Spinal cord injury modelsDr. Sparrey’s research focus is on biomechanics and biomaterials. She studies the mechanical characterization of neurological tissues. She also works on modeling and simulating injuries and diseases, including accident reconstruction. Dr. Sparrey also designs and evaluates injury prevention devices.
Dr. Sparrey is a Principal Investigator at ICORD and an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University. She obtained her B.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo and her M.A.Sc. from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Sparrey completed her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Current Lab Members
| Masters Students | PhD Students | Postdoctoral Fellows |
| Mohamad Dashtabli | Ehsan Deneshi Kohan* | Dr. Victoria Spartacus |
| Mae Shojaei | Dr. Numaira Obaid | |
| Dr. Shervin Jannesar | ||
*has graduated in the past year
Awards
- SFU Teaching Excellence, SFU 2021
Trainee Awards
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2020 | Numaira Obaid | ICORD Postdoctoral Poster Award |
| 2015 | Parry Singh Mudhar | Student Poster Award (ICORD Annual General Meeting) |
| 2014 | Ehsan Kohan | Student Poster Finalist (Society for Neurotrauma) |
Current Opportunities in the Lab
Please contact Dr. Sparrey with inquiries.
Videos
Dr. Carolyn Sparrey gives a quick explanation of her research.
Recent publications
- Khorami, F, Obaid, N, Sparrey, CJ. 2025. Sex differences in in vivo soft tissue compressive properties of the human hip in young adults: a comparison between passive vs active state.. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.106904.
- Atoyebi, O et al.. 2025. Power assist add-ons for adult manual wheelchair users: A scoping review.. Assist Technol. doi: 10.1080/10400435.2025.2451933.
- Huie, JR et al.. 2025. An infrastructure for qualified data sharing and team science in late-stage translational spinal cord injury research.. Exp Neurol. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2024.114995.
- Jimenez, C, Sparrey, CJ, Narimani, M. 2023. Identification of injured elements in computational models of spinal cord injury using machine learning.. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. doi: 10.1109/EMBC40787.2023.10340243.
- Khorami, F et al.. 2023. Impact forces in backward falls: Subject-specific video-based rigid body simulation of backward falls.. Proc Inst Mech Eng H. doi: 10.1177/09544119231207653.
