Richard L. Lieber



Richard (Rick) L. Lieber (born December 14, 1956) is an American scientist in the field of muscle physiology. Lieber is Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice-president at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Professor of Physiology, Biomedical Engineering & Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and Senior Research Career Scientist at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital. He is internationally recognized as an expert in skeletal muscle structure and function. His research focuses on skeletal muscle properties in individuals with neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury or cerebral palsy.

Early life and education
Dr. Lieber was born in Walnut Creek, California, the son of a big band musician and hospital administrator. After graduation from Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, he completed a B.S. in physiology in 1978 at University of California, Davis. In 1983, he earned his Ph.D. in biophysics from University of California, Davis, applied a theory of light diffraction to study mechanical properties of muscle cells and was one of the first to use the Intel 8080 microprocessor to control a biological system in real-time. He received his M.B.A. in 2013 from Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego.

Career
Lieber was hired as an assistant professor at UC San Diego in 1985, promoted to associate professor in 1990, and promoted to Professor in 1994. He was also a Biomedical Engineer at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Diego from 1983 to 2000. He was recruited as the Chief Scientific Officer at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) in 2014 to lead the research enterprise in this new translational rehabilitation research hospital.

Research
Lieber has published over 350 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals ranging from basic science such as The Journal of Cell Biology to clinical research such as The Journal of Hand Surgery. He is an established expert in using biological approaches to understand muscle contractures in neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, stroke and spinal cord injury. Lieber's work includes the development of pharmacological and surgical interventions to improve muscle function in individuals with neurological conditions. He has made significant contributions to the field of muscle physiology, especially in the area of in vivo muscle measurements, and he is frequently referenced by colleagues. His most often cited paper is "Functional and clinical significance of skeletal muscle architecture" in the peer-reviewed journal Muscle & Nerve with 1447 citations. His work has over 34,000 citations in the scientific community and his h-index is 91. In addition to his publications in peer-reviewed journals, he authored the textbook, "Skeletal Muscle Structure, Function, and Plasticity," which explores basic and applied physiological properties of skeletal muscle.

Distinctions
Lieber's career is marked by significant professional collaborations with international colleagues and organizations, including Jan Fridén, M.D.,Ph.D. at Gothenburg University, Eva Pontén at the Karolinska Institute, and Allistair Rothwell at Christ Church, New Zealand.

Lieber also serves as a member of the scientific advisory board of the NFL and has six patents on surgical techniques, methods to measure muscle fibers, and methods to administer stimulation to skeletal muscles

Awards and honors
Lieber has received a number of awards and honors throughout his career. These include:

Elsass Foundation Research Prize, June 2023

Paul B. Magnuson Award, Rehabilitation Research and Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, March 2023

Goel Award for Translational Biomechanics, North American Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB), American Society for Biomechanics, August 2022, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Lifetime Achievement Award, American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, 2021

Fellow, Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), November 2020

Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), March 2019

Hay Award in Sport Biomechanics, American Society of Biomechanics, August 2017

Honorary Member, American Physical Therapy Association, February 2015

Founders Award, American College of Sports Medicine (Southwest Chapter), October 2014.

Gayle G. Arnold Award, American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, October 2013

Kappa Delta Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, February 2013, Chicago, IL.

Fellow, American Society for Biomechanics, July 2012

Outstanding Research Award, International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), Göteborg, Sweden. June 2011.

Giovanni Borelli Award, American Society of Biomechanics, August, 2007.

The Göteborg University Medal, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, June 2007.

Fulbright Scholarship (Sweden), 2007

Nicolas Andry Award, American Bone and Joint Surgeons, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 2002

Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine, March, 1994.

Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, February 1994.

Publications
Selected publications


 * 1) Lieber, R.L. and R.J. Baskin. (1983). Intersarcomere dynamics of single skeletal muscle fibers during fixed-end tetani. J. Gen. Physiol. 82:347-364. PMC2228698.
 * 2) Lieber, R.L., R.J. Baskin and Y. Yeh. (1984). Sarcomere length determination using laser diffraction: effect of beam and fiber diameter. Biophys. J. 45:1007-1016. PMC1434983.
 * 3) Lieber RL, Yeh Y, Baskin RJ. Sarcomere length determination using laser diffraction. Effect of beam and fiber diameter. Biophysical Journal. 1984;45:1007-16
 * 4) Lieber, R.L. and J.L. Boakes. (1988). Sarcomere length and joint kinematics during torque production in the frog hindlimb. Am. J. Physiol. 254:C759-C768. PMID3259840
 * 5) Lieber, R.L. and F.T. Blevins. (1989). Skeletal muscle architecture of the rabbit hindlimb: Functional implications of muscle design. J. Morphol. 199:93-101. PMID2921772
 * 6) Lieber, R.L., M.E. Leonard, C.G. Brown, and C.L. Trestik. (1991). Frog semitendinosis  tendon load-strain and stress-strain properties during passive loading. Am. J. Physiol. 261:C86-C92. PMID1858862
 * 7) Lieber, R.L., Raab, R., Kashin, S. and V.R. Edgerton (1992). Sarcomere length changes during fish swimming. J. Exp. Biol. 169:251-254. PMID11536506
 * 8) Lieber RL, Baskin RJ, Yeh Y.  (1984).  Sarcomere length determination using laser diffraction: effect of beam and fiber diameter. Biophys. J. 45:1007-1016. PMC 434983
 * 9) Lieber, R.L. G.J. Loren and J. Fridén. (1994). In vivo measurement of human wrist extensor muscle sarcomere length changes. J. Neurophysiol. 71:874-881. PMID8201427
 * 10) Sam M, Shah S, Fridén J, Milner DJ, Capetanaki Y, Lieber RL.  (2000). Desmin knockout muscles generate lower stress and are less vulnerable to injury compared to wildtype muscles.  Am. J. Physiol. 279:C1116-1122. PMID 1003592.
 * 11) Sam, M., S. Shah, J. Fridén, D.J. Milner, Y. Capetanaki and R.L. Lieber. (2000). Desmin knockout muscles generate lower stress and are less vulnerable to injury compared to wildtype muscles. Am. J. Physiol. 279:C1116-1122. PMID11003592
 * 12) Lieber, R.L. and J. Fridén. (2002). Spasticity causes a fundamental rearrangement of muscle-joint interaction. Muscle & Nerve 25:265-270. PMID11870696
 * 13) Lieber, R.L., J. Fridén, T. Hobbs, A.G. Rothwell. (2003). Analysis of posterior deltoid function one year after surgical restoration of elbow extension. J. Hand. Surg. (Am.) 28A:288-293. PMID 12671862.
 * 14) Patel, T.J., R. Das, J. Fridén, G.J. Lutz and R.L. Lieber. (2004). Sarcomere strain and heterogeneity correlate with injury to frog skeletal muscle fiber bundles. J. Appl. Physiol. 97:1803-1813. PMID15208284
 * 15) Lieber, R.L., W. Murray, D.L. Clark, V.R. Hentz and J. Fridén. (2005). Biomechanical properties of the brachioradialis muscle: Implications for surgical tendon transfer. J. Hand Surg. (Am.) 30:273-282. PMID15781349.
 * 16) Hentzen, E.R., M. Lahey, D. Peters, L. Mathew, I.A. Barash, J. Fridén and R.L. Lieber. (2006).  Stress-dependent and -independent expression of the myogenic regulatory factors and the MARP genes after eccentric contractions in rats. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 570:157-167. PMC1464283
 * 17) Smith, L.R., K.S. Lee, S.R. Ward, H.G. Chambers, R.L. Lieber. (2011) Hamstring contractures in children with spastic cerebral palsy result from a stiffer ECM and increased in vivo sarcomere length. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 589:2625-2639. PMID 21486759.
 * 18) Palmisano, M.G., S.N. Bremner, S. Huang, A.A. Domenighetti, T. Hornberger, S.B. Shah, M. Kellermeyer, A.F. Ryan, and R.L. Lieber. (2014). Skeletal muscle intermediate filaments  act as a stress-transmitting and stress-transducing signaling network. J. Cell Sci.128:219-224. PMC4294770
 * 19) Young KW, Radic S, Myslivets E, Lieber RL. (2014). Resonant reflection spectroscopy of biomolecular arrays in muscle.  Biophys. J. 107:2352-2360. PMID 25418304.
 * 20) Young, K.W., S. Radic, E. Myslivets, and R.L. Lieber. (2014). Resonant reflection spectroscopy of biomolecular arrays in muscle. Biophys. J. 107:2352-2360. PMC4241457.
 * 21) Palmisano, M.G., S.N. Bremner, A.A. Domenighetti, T. Hornberger, S.B. Shah, M. Kellermeyer, A.F. Ryan, and R.L. Lieber. (2014). Skeletal muscle intermediate filaments act as a stress-transmitting and stress-transducing signaling network. J. Cell Sci. 128:219-224. PMID 25413344.
 * 22) Mathewson, M.A., S.R. Ward, H.G. Chambers and R.L. Lieber. (2014). High resolution muscle measurements provide insight into equinus contracture in patients with cerebral palsy. J. Orthop Res. 33:33-39. PMC2903973
 * 23) Young, K.W., B.P.P Kuo, S.M. O'Connor, S. Radic and R.L. Lieber. (2017). In vivo sarcomere length measurement in whole muscles during passive stretch and twitch  contractions. Biophys. J. 112:805-812. PMID 28256239.
 * 24) Domenighetti, A., M.A. Mathewson, R. Pichika, L. Zhao, H.G. Chambers and R.L. Lieber. (2018). Loss of myogenic potential and fusion capacity of satellite cells isolated from contractured muscle in children with cerebral palsy. Am. J. Physiol. 315:C247-C257. PMID 29694232.