People

Connor Leek

PhD student, Department of Biomedical Engineering (University of Delaware)

Visiting Graduate Student, Department of Orthopedic Surgery (University of Michigan)

Education:

BS, 2016 (Biomedical Engineering, University of Buffalo)

Connor Leek is a biomedical engineer and uses mouse models to study how cell signaling from muscle and tendon influences bone shape during development. His research focuses on muscle-bone crosstalk and how these tissues communicate via ligands and mechanical force.

Connor is an expert in histology, transgenic mouse models, and image processing. He maintains multiple mouse colonies and mentors undergraduate students. He has also been instrumental in helping to organize the lab's recent move to Michigan.

Before joining Killian Lab at the University of Delaware, Connor received a BS in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in mathematics at the University of Buffalo. As an undergraduate, he worked at a structural engineering firm and a prosthetics clinic.

Connor was born on Long Island, New York. He saw the necessity of putting his effort into everything he did. He served as a lab technician at his high school, which required getting to school an hour early. After school, he kept active through crew during the spring, summer, and fall and competitive swimming in the winter. He worked to earn what he could for his education and used his spare time to develop his art skills. He now spends his free time drawing, cooking, and exploring the city of Ann Arbor by running.