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evaluates injury claims and reconstructs accidents related to recreational activities, motor vehicle accidents, product failures, and premises liability. Dr. Stepan specializes in determining the forces and motions experienced by individuals during an accident, and comparing those forces and motions to injury tolerance levels and what an individual would experience in everyday life. She has analyzed a variety of head, neck, low back, shoulder, arm, hip, knee, and leg injuries claimed from motor vehicle collisions, slip/trip and falls, and occupational and industrial equipment accidents. In addition, Dr. Stepan has investigated injury claims from medical devices failures, elevator incidents, and snow and water sports activities. Dr. Stepan has extensive experience with cardiovascular implants, surgical instrumentation, physiological monitoring devices, and nickel titanium. She has conducted research characterizing the thermal, mechanical, and biocorrosion properties of bulk and thin film nitinol, investigated laser-tissue interactions for diagnostic surgical instrumentation, and has lead the development of a real-time respiratory monitoring device. In the medical device industry, she has analyzed surface modifications to enhance the corrosion resistance of percutaneous cardiovascular implants and has assessed the hydrodynamic performance of artificial heart valves using steady flow, pulsatile flow, and flow visualization techniques.
Stepan L, Levi D, Gans E, Mohanchandra K, Ujihara M, Carman G. Biocorrosion investigation of two shape memory nickel based alloys: Ni-Mn-Ga and thin film Nitinol. J Biomedical Mat Res: Part A 2007; 82(3):768–776.
Stepan L, Levi D, Carman G. A thin film Nitinol heart valve. J Biomechan Eng 2005; 127(6):915–918.
Levi D, Raff E, Stepan L, Liu J, Williams R, Moore J, Carman G. Use of a covered stent modification to produce a transcatheter valve: Laboratory and animal testing. ASAIO J 2005; 51(6):719–724.
Conference Proceedings and Presentations
Stepan L, Scher I, Shealy J. Unconstrained speeds of skiers and snowboarders: factors influencing the in-run of a table-top jump. Abstract presented at the Biennial Meeting of the International Symposium on Skiing Trauma and Safety, Garmisch, Germany, April 2009.
Stepan L, Levi D, Carman G. A thin film nitinol heart valve. Poster presentation at the 12th SPIE Annual International Symposium Smart Structures and Materials, San Diego, CA, March 6–10, 2005.
Stepan L, Levi D, Carman G. A thin film nitinol heart valve. Abstract presentation at the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) International Mechanical Engineering Congress, Anaheim, CA, November 13, 2004.
Levi D, Stepan L, Carman G, Jardine A. Development and testing of manufacturable thin film TiNi for medical devices. Abstract presentation at SMST (Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies), Baden-Baden, Germany, October 3–7, 2004.
Stepan L, DeConde A, Levi D, Carman G. A thin film nitinol heart valve. The 5th University of California System-wide Bioengineering Symposium, Irvine, CA, June 26–28, 2004.
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (member)
- Society of Automotive Engineers (member)
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- Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 2007
- M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 2006
- B.S., Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2000
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