Biography

Marie-Christine Ho Ba Tho is Full Professor in Mechanics since 1998 at UTC (Université de Technologie de Compiègne). She was the Director of the Biomechanics and Bioengineering Laboratory associated with CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) from 2008 to 2017. From 2017-2023 she was the Director of Research of UTC. She has been appointed to the Scientific Board at the Institute CNRS Engineering (Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences) of CNRS since 2023.

She received a Master in Physics in 1985 and Post Diploma in Radiological Physics 1986 from Université Paul Sabatier (UPS) at Toulouse, France. After her PhD in Biomechanics in 1989 at UPS she moved to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children as a postdoctoral fellow until 1992. She returned to France at the INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) U305 laboratory at Toulouse, with an INSERM researcher position until 1998.

Her research interest concerns Biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system especially children deformities, adult arthroplasties. Methodologies developed are Bone and Joints modeling and characterization coupled with medical imaging techniques. She introduced the development of numerical models with subject specific mechanical, geometric properties and load conditions derived from medical images and the multiscale characterization of the musculo-skeletal system (organ, tissue, cellular and molecular levels). Most of her research are performed in collaboration with companies and clinicians (orthopaedics and radiologists). The clinical field of interests are the lower and upper limbs, the spine and the face. Her work is recently focused in the modelling of uncertainties of biomechanics data, their propagation in numerical simulations and in the development of medical computer aided system decision.

She served as a council member of the ESB (European Society of Biomechanics) 1996-2004 and was vice president (2000-04). She was a member of the World Council for Biomechanics for the period 2006-2018. She organised the 11th ESB Conference in 1998 (Toulouse) and the 7th ICCB (International Conference on Computational Bioengineering) 2017 (Compiègne). She is usuallly involved in the scientific committee of ESB and WCB (World Congress of Biomechanics) Conferences, and track chair for the 8th WCB 2018 (Dublin). She was nominated Honorary Member of the ESB in 2019.

She was Vice President of Board of Directors of UTC from 2009-2011, president of Restricted Committee Board of DIrectors from 2009-2013 and scientific council member (2013-2017).
Since November 2022, she has been appointed as an external member of the Governing Body of SETU (South East Technological University).

She was nominated at the National Committee of CNRS from 2002-2008 (Biomechanics, Bioengineering), at the CNU (University National Committee) (Mechanics) 2008-2010, and was elected for the term 2016-2019 and reelected for the term 2020-2023.
She has been appointed to the Scientific Board at the Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences (INSIS) of CNRS from 2010-2014 and led the first Collegium UTC CNRS INSIS (INstitut des Sciences de l'Ingénierie et des Systèmes) from 2010-2016.
She is participating as an expert and committe evaluation member in the National Agency of Education and Research Evaluation (AERES, HCERES) and National Agency of Research (ANR) and international funding agencies NSERC (Canada), FNRS (Belgium), FNS (Switzerland), BMBF (Germany).
She plays an expert role for the public investment bank BPIFRANCE a french finance and business development for companies development.

She enters in the National Order of the Legion of Honor with the grade of « Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur » (Knight of the Legion of Honour) (July 2017).