Curriculum Vitae

Juntong Lai
PhD Candidate, INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
jlai10@sheffield.ac.uk  |  LinkedIn  |  GitHub  |  ORCID

Education & Qualifications

2026

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) — Higher Education Academy, UK

2022 – 2026

PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Fully funded by UKRI EPSRC) — University of Sheffield, UK

Thesis: Inflammation and Mechanical Loading in Osteoarthritis: An Integrative Multi-scale Approach.
Supervisor: Prof. Damien Lacroix  |  INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine

  • Developed the first mathematical model of inflammation and obesity in osteoarthritis and a state-of-the-art mechanobiological framework for simulating obesity-associated cartilage degeneration of the knee joint, resulting in four scientific manuscripts.
2020 – 2021

MSc Mechanical Engineering with Industrial Management (Distinction) — University of Sheffield, UK

Dissertation: A Finite Element Study of the Effect of Cross-link Stabilisation in a Lumbar Spine Tumour Model.

  • Collaborated with clinical surgeons from Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and delivered a high-quality publication studying tumour and cross-link stabilisation in an advanced FE model.
2016 – 2020

BEng Mechanical Design Manufacture and Automation (3.4/4.0) — Xidian University, China

Professional Activities

12/2024 – present

Member, Young Scientists Committee (YSC) — Virtual Physiological Human Institute

  • Collaborated with junior and senior researchers to support the wider community across VPHi disciplines (e.g., biology, physiology, bioengineering, musculoskeletal modelling) by organising VPHi keynote webinar series, summer school, mentoring events, and VPHi conference.
06/2023 – present

Early Career Researcher (ECR) Representative — INSIGNEO Institute, University of Sheffield, UK

  • Represented Insigneo ECRs in regular Insigneo Board meetings, contributing to strategic discussions and ensuring visibility of ECR perspectives in decision-making.
  • Coordinated workshops, seminars, and collaborative events to promote knowledge exchange and professional development among ECRs.
09/2023 – 02/2025

IT Team Member — Research Group, University of Sheffield, UK

02/2022 – 06/2022

Assistant Engineer — Guangzhou HKUST Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, China

11/2020 – 08/2021

MSc Academic Representative — University of Sheffield, UK

Teaching Experience

09/2023 – present

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) — University of Sheffield, UK

09/2023 – present

Research Supervision in Final Year Projects — University of Sheffield, UK

07/2025 – 09/2025

Research Supervisor — Insigneo/BRC Summer Placement, INSIGNEO Institute, Sheffield, UK

07/2024 – 09/2024

Research Supervisor — Insigneo Summer Placement, INSIGNEO Institute, Sheffield, UK

Publications

  1. Lai J, Lacroix D. A novel integrative multi-scale framework of inflammation and mechanical loading in knee osteoarthritis. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology. Under review.
  2. Lai J, Lacroix D. A computational study of adiposity-associated factors in the inflammatory process of osteoarthritis. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 2026; 625: 112429. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2026.112429
  3. Lai J, Lacroix D. Mathematical modelling of inflammatory process and obesity in osteoarthritis. PLoS One 2025; 20(6): e0323258. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0323258
  4. Lai J, Tomlinson J, Breakwell L, Lacroix D. A finite element study of the effect of cross-link stabilisation in a lumbar spine tumour model. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine. 2025. doi:10.1177/09544119251348279

Selected Conference Presentations

  • 09/07/2025 — Oral presentation, 30th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB), Zürich, Switzerland
  • 10/09/2024 — Poster presentation, British Orthopaedic Research Society (BORS) Meeting 2024, Sheffield, UK
  • 04/09/2024 — Oral presentation, Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) Conference 2024, Stuttgart, Germany
  • 30/06/2024 — Oral presentation, 29th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB), Edinburgh, UK
  • 02/02/2024 — Poster presentation, 70th Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Annual Meeting, California, USA
  • 15/09/2022 — Oral presentation, 35th SIMULIA EuroNorth Regional User Meeting, Manchester, UK

Expertise & Skills

Computational

  • Multi-scale modelling; systems biology in inflammation
  • Finite element modelling (Abaqus, ANSYS); FE workflow automation
  • Scientific programming (MATLAB, Python, Linux)
  • Parallel & high-performance computing (HPC)
  • Computational verification and validation
  • Data analysis and visualisation

Other

  • Scientific writing & peer review; LaTeX
  • Version control (Git / GitHub)
  • AFHEA teaching standard
  • Project management & IT management
  • Cross-disciplinary collaboration & public engagement

Scholarships & Awards

  • 2026 — University of Sheffield Postgraduate Research Student Publication Scholarship
  • 2025 — Recognition Award of Working Collaboratively as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)
  • 2024 — Third Prize of the 2nd Year Poster Presentation
  • 2022–2026 — EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) Scholarship
  • 2020 — Excellent Undergraduate Graduation Design, Xidian University
  • 2019 — Excellent Completion of CDIO NUS Artificial Intelligence Technology Summer School
  • 2019 — Second Prize of Shaanxi Province in the Sixth National Engineering Training Competition
  • 2017–2020 — Scholarship of Xidian University for 3 Years in Succession
  • 2017 — Xidian University Summer College Student Practice "Outstanding Individual"
  • 2017–2018 — Outstanding Student Leader of Xidian University
  • 2016–2017 — "Outstanding Volunteer", School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xidian University

Memberships & Affiliations