Katrina M. Knight, PhD

Assistant Professor

Magee-Womens Research Institute | 204 Craft Avenue Lab A330 | Pittsburgh, PA 15213 P: 412-641-4041

kmk144@pitt.edu

Biographical Highlights

Dr. Katrina M. Knight is an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering and a primary investigator at Magee-Womens Research Institute, the largest research institute dedicated to women’s health in the United States. She received her BS in biochemistry from Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC), a Historically Black College and University, in 2009 and her PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. Prior to joining the bioengineering faculty as an assistant professor in May 2021, Dr. Knight was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, and in the Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Dr. Knight is currently a NIH/ORWH K12 Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Scholar and a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of Magee-Womens Research Institute. Outside of academia, Dr. Knight has a strong passion for giving back to her community. She is the chief engineering officer and co-founder of Your Village Is My Village Incorporated, a 501c3 non-profit organization that aims to positively transform communities through mentoring and the education of at-promise youths.

Knight Laboratory

The overarching goal of the Knight Laboratory is to improve the lives of women with pelvic floor disorders through the development of novel and innovative devices and treatments. Specifically, the lab focuses on pelvic organ prolapse (prolapse), a common gynecologic condition characterized by the unnatural descent of the pelvic organs into the vaginal canal. Synthetic meshes are often used in the surgical repair of prolapse; however, complications have hindered the use of mesh with pain and exposure of mesh fibers through the vaginal epithelium (i.e., mesh exposure) most reported. The Knight Lab is particularly interested in elucidating the biomechanics and biologic mechanisms that lead to complications associated with the use of synthetic mesh in prolapse repairs. This increased knowledge will then be used to develop a novel device to repair prolapse. To accomplish these goals, the Knight Laboratory utilizes an interdisciplinary approach that combines skills from biology (e.g., animal model development, biochemical analyses, histology) and engineering (e.g., CAD model design, computational modeling, device development, mechanical testing, tissue regeneration).

Research Interests

• Understand the pathogenesis of synthetic mesh complications • Develop novel devices and treatments for urogynecological applications • Characterize the mechanical properties of the vagina • Understand the role of collagen, elastin, and smooth muscle in maintaining the structure and function of the vagina • Define the impact of mechanics on vaginal cellular function