Jess Goetz received both her Bachelors’ degree and her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa.  Her doctoral research involved using engineering and biomechanics approaches to develop and characterize a novel bipedal animal model of femoral head osteonecrosis that was susceptible to collapse. After graduation, she was a Research Engineer before joining the faculty on the Research Track, and then on the Tenure Track, all in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Iowa.  After getting the opportunity to bring biomechanical engineering approaches to several clinical problems, her current lines of research are centered on relating histologically apparent cartilage responses to mechanical load with underlying tissue mechanics in benchtop, computation, and preclinical models of joint injuries and deformity.  She has won the Harris Award from the Journal of Orthopedic Research for her work in computational modeling of hips dysplasia and was featured on the Congressionally Directed Medical Programs website for her work in the Yucatan minipig model of post-traumatic osteoarthritis after intra-articular fracture. In addition to her research, she is also an active member of the Departmental Resident Research Committee, serves on the University Information Technology Advisory Committee, and is a Faculty Senator.