I obtained my undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, masters in Earthquake Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and PhD in Numerical Methods from University of Swansea (Supervisors: Professors Nenad Bicanic and Olek Zienkiewicz). I established and lead the Edinburgh Computational Biomechanics research group. I have collaborated with universities around the globe and my research has been supported by international organisations, the industry and UK funding councils. I have been a Visiting Professor at ETH Zurich and a Senior Fellow of Collegium Helveticum, Zurich.

In my role as International Dean for South Asia (2015-25) I provided leadership in the development of a strategy to shape activities, partnerships and priorities to enhance the University’s international engagement. I initiated and led the discussions with the Government of Gujarat in India which led to the establishment of a new autonomous Gujarat Biotechnology University in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. I am also the Director of the Edinburgh India Institute and the Deputy Head of the Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Edinburgh.

I am a recipient of KT Dholakia Gold Medal for my research in Orthopaedic Biomechanics and delivered KT Dholakia Eponymous lecture to ~1200 orthopaedic surgeons at WIROC Global in March 2022. Research supervised by me has received a number of awards:

• Best PhD thesis in In silico Medicine awarded by Virtual Physiological Human institute (VPHi) (Belgium) to PhD student F. Levrero-Florencio (2018)
• DePuy Best Medical Engineering PhD, runners-up prize awarded by Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK) to PhD student F. Levrero-Florencio (2018).
• British Orthopaedic Research Society's International Travelling Research Fellowship for Young Investigators awarded to Alisdair MacLeod for his PhD research (2016).
• Best presentation award from the Scottish Committee for Orthopaedics and Trauma at their annual meeting to MD student C Scott (2015).
• British Orthopaedic Association's Hip and Knee Reconstruction Fellowship awarded to MD student C Scott (2015).
• Best Poster Award at the 2016 British Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, for the study entitled \the changing microarchitecture of trabecular bone with high strain" (authors: Wallace, Manda, Sales, Simpson and Pankaj).
• IMechE/Vicon prize for the best Medical Engineering Project awarded to MD student C Scott (2013).
• Best Paper Award at the 2011 International Conference of Systems Biology and Bioengineering for the paper entitled “Computational Modelling of Magnetic Resonance Elastography Shear Wave Behaviour through Atherosclerotic Plaque with Disease Development" (authors: Thomas-Seale, Pankaj, Hoskins and Roberts).
• Robertson Medal for the best research proposal from Carnegie Trust awarded to PhD student FE Donaldson (2008).
• IMechE/Orthopaedic Research UK award for the best thesis in Medical Engineering awarded to PhD student ATM Phillips (2007).

My principal expertise has been in the area of nonlinear computational solid mechanics. I have developed new constitutive models and finite element algorithms some of which are now part of finite element textbooks. One of the major successful application areas of my expertise is computational biomechanics. My research is highly interdisciplinary; my group has developed partnerships with clinicians and comprises of research students with backgrounds in physical sciences, engineering and medical sciences.

My group has been extremely successful in exploiting numerical methods and mechanics in the solution of real clinical problems. I continue to contribute to research on numerical simulation of the mechanical behaviour of construction materials at elevated temperatures and structures subjected to dynamic (particularly seismic) forces. My current research interests are: 

• Multi-scale modelling of bone – from micro-structure to its linear, nonlinear and time dependent properties
• Optimising primary and revision hip and knee replacements
• Optimising treatment of healthy and diseased bone fractures
• Optimising treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
• Bone health in individuals with transfemoral amputation
• Predicting fracture risk in metastatic bone disease

I have developed a number of research collaborations which have all resulted in joint funded projects and/or publications:

Collaborations within the UK:

• Imperial College London
• University of Cardiff
• University of Sheffield
• University of Manchester
• Durham University
• University of Liverpool
• Heriot-Watt University
• University of Southampton

Collaborations in Europe:

• ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• University of Liege, Belgium
• Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg
• Danish Technical University – Lyngby, Denmark
• University of Bologna, Italy

Collaborations in Americas:

• Northwestern University, Evanston, USA
• University of Washington, Seattle, USA
• University of Saskatchewan, Canada
• Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Collaborations in Asia: 

• University of Melbourne, Australia
• Indian Institute of Technology – Roorkee, India
• Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi, India
• Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment – Chandigarh, India
• India Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre – Mumbai, India
• China University of Petroleum, Beijing, China
• Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

Current

Principal Supervisor

1. Shahrzad Shariatpanahi (PhD)
2. Yi Ren (PhD)
3. Yifan Su (PhD)
4. S. M. Abbas Rizvi (PhD)
5. Xinyue Yu (PhD)

Co-supervisor

1. Shi Li (PhD)
2. Liam Yapp (PhD)
3. Samantha Downie (PhD)

Graduated

Principal Supervisor

1. Jose Luis Zavaleta Ruiz (PhD, 2025)
2. Sidra Jamshed (PhD, 2024): Assistant Professor, University of Engineering & Technolgy, Lahore.
3. Adib Hamdani Bin Rosli (PhD, 2019): Assistant Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
4. Zhujun Zhang (PhD, 2019): Fire Engineer, AECOM, Edinburgh.
5. Shuqiao Xie (PhD, 2018): Co-founder, Smart Surgical Soulutions, London.
6. Francesc Levrero Florencio (PhD, 2017): Lead R&D Engineer at OnScale, an Ansys Company, London.
7. Chloe Scott (MD, 2016): Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, NHS Lothian.
8. Jerome Goffin  (PhD, 2015)
9. Feng-Chen An (PhD, 2015): Lecturer, China University of Petroleum.
10. Alisdair MacLeod (PhD, 2014): Chief Technology Officer, Orthoscape, Bath.
11. Noel Conlisk  (PhD, 2013): AI Trainer and Consultant with expertise in Computational Modelling and Biomedical Engineering, Edinburgh.
12. Joanne Knox (PhD, 2012): Fire and Life Safety Technical Director, AESG, Dubai.
13. Finn Donaldson (PhD, 2011): Team Lead, Peripheral Interventional Devices Team at U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Washington DC.
14. Jesús Chávez Sagarnaga (PhD, 2005): Director of Structural Engineering at Jenike & Johanson, Boston.
15. Andrew Phillips (PhD, 2005): Reader, Imperial College London.
16. Ermiao Lin (MSc by research, 2003)
17. Aikaterini Mania (MSc by research, 2002)
18. Mohammed Arif (PhD, 1998): Professor Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.
19. Khalid Moin (PhD, 1997): Professor, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, India.

Co-supervisor

1. Adrianos E. A. Fotopoulos (PhD)
2. Hongning Ye (PhD, 2024)
3. Mariachiara Conti (PhD, 2024): Postdoctoral Researcher, Vanderbilt University, Nashvelle.
4. Alexander Sturtivant (PhD, 2024)
5. Koray Malci (PhD, 2022): Research Associate at Imperial College London
6. James Farrell (PhD, 2020): Health Data Scientist, Health Data Research UK, Edinburgh.
7. Nimrah Munir (PhD, 2020): Head of Operations at QV Bioelectronics, Macclesfield
8. James Reid (PhD, 2020)
9. Jiayu Hu (PhD, 2019, Co-supervisor): Design Engineer, Mott MacDonald, London.
10. Fahad Gulib (PhD, 2018, Co-supervisor): Advanced Analysis Engineer, Worley, Aberdeen.
11. Lyam Hollis (PhD, 2016, Co-supervisor)
12. Lauren Thomas-Seale (PhD, 2015, Co-supervisor): Senior Lecturer, University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
13. Paul Jenkins (MD, 2015, Co-supervisor): Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.
14. Panagiotis Kotsovinos (PhD, 2013, Co-supervisor)
15. Robert Wallace (PhD, 2012, Co-supervisor): Programme Portfolio Manager – Scottish Medical Imaging (eDRIS), Public Health Scotland, Edinburgh.
16. Adam Ervine (PhD, 2012, Co-supervisor): Managing Director, Bloom Fire Consulting, Brisbane.

• Director, Edinburgh India Institute, The University of Edinburgh
• Deputy Head of the Institute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh

https://www.ecbm.eng.ed.ac.uk/home

https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/people/prof-pankaj-pankaj