Craig McGowan

Dr. McGowan is a Professor and Division Head in the Department of Medical Education – Division of Integrative Anatomical Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Prior to joining USC, he spent ten years in the Department of Biological Sciences and the WWAMI Medical Education Program at the University of Idaho. He received his PhD in Biology from Harvard University and was an NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Integrated Physiology at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas, Austin.

Dr. McGowan’s research program seeks to understand the relationships between musculoskeletal morphology and the biomechanics of locomotor performance. His research team addresses questions geared towards understanding the in-vivo dynamics of individual muscles, the influence of musculoskeletal architecture on muscle function, and the links between limb morphology, whole body locomotor performance and habitat utilization. Using a comparative approach, he integrates a number of research techniques including in-vivo muscle-tendon measurements, musculoskeletal modeling and computer simulation, whole body physiology and biomechanics, and measurements of performance and habitat use in the field to examine how humans and other animals maneuver through their natural environments.

• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society: Elected Member, 2024
• Keck School of Medicine of USC: Outstanding Teaching Award, 2023
• University of Idaho: Award for Teaching Excellence, 2020
• University of Idaho: University Mid-Career Award, 2018
   – 2020
• University of Idaho: Award for Teaching Excellence, 2015
• University of Idaho: Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, 2014
• National Center for Simulation in Rehabilitation Research: Outstanding Researcher Award, 2012
• American Society of Biomechanics: Young Scientist Post-doctoral Award, 2010

• Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ — BS — 2000 — Biology
• Harvard University, Cambridge, MA — PhD — 2006 — Biology
• University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO — Postdoc — 2009 — Integrative Physiology
• University of Texas, Austin, Austin, TX — Postdoc — 2010 — Mechanical Engineering

• NSF-BII: Integrative Movement Science Institute (IMSI)
  National Science Foundation · Mar 1, 2024 – Feb 28, 2030 · Role: Senior Personnel
• COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Elucidating the contributions of nonlinearities in musculotendon properties to enabling locomotion in unpredictable environments
  NSF – IOS · Apr 1, 2022 – Mar 31, 2025 · Role: PI
• CAREER: Establishing links between musculoskeletal morphology and the biomechanics of bipedal hopping in desert environments
  NSF – IOS · Apr 1, 2016 – Mar 31, 2023 · Role: PI

• Powers, Christopher
• Finley, James
• Patel, Biren
• Wren, Tishya
• Valero-Cuevas, Francisco
• Sigward, Susan