Translational Mechanobiology Lab

Translational Mechanobiology Laboratory Header: 5 background images that include a coronary artery of a hypercholesterolemic pig, 4 TML workers in a lab setting, and a hypercholesterolemic mouse carotid artery stained for KLF-2 and DAPI.
from tissue to genome and benchtop to bedside

Our Goal:

To make discoveries in mechanobiology that found new avenues of translation to the clinic



Mechanotherapy

Histological sections showing atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries of hypercholesterolemic mice caused by disturbed blood flow. Atherosclerosis is regressed in the arteries of mice where laminar blood flow is restored, compared to arteries where disturbed blood flow is maintained (left versus right).
We study the role of mechanobiology in atherosclerosis progression and regression

Nanomedicine

MR image and Ktrans maps showing increased nanoparticle accumulation in an atherosclerotic carotid artery of a hypercholesterolemic mouse compared to the non-diseased contralateral artery. Nanoparticle accumulation was also found to depend on the presence of smooth muscle cells within the plaque (histology section stained for smooth muscle actin, right).
We examine the use of nanoparticles with DCE-MRI as a noninvasive diagnostic of atherosclerotic plaque phenotype

Cell Engineering

Graduate student, Jaideep Sahni, uses an oscilloscope and needle hydrophone to characterize the acoustic pressure generated by an ultrasound transducer. Endothelial cells showed increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the presence of this calibrated mechanical stimulus from ultrasound.
We explore how mechanical stimuli generated from ultrasound can be used to control cell behaviors

Tissue Modeling

A prosthetic intraocular lens implanted into the lens capsule of a human cadaver eye and a finite element model showing the resultant stress field. Mechanical modeling can be used to characterize the mechanical environment of a tissue after surgery, which is an important determinant of the fibrotic response of inhabiting cells.
We characterize the mechanical environment of tissues during normalcy, disease, and after implantation of medical devices