Nathan Sniadecki, Ph.D.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
E-mail: nsniadec@u.wa...


TITLE:

"Cardiovascular Cell Mechanics"


ABSTRACT:

Cells of the cardiovascular system are sensitive to mechanical factors
such as adhesivity, stiffness, stresses, strains, and boundary conditions.
It is important to understand how cells sense and respond to mechanical
factors, but it has been difficult to characterize cell mechanics and
mechanotransduction because there is a shortfall in techniques to
characterize cells at an appropriate length scale.  In my presentation, I
will discuss the engineering approaches we are using with micro- and
nano-systems to make precision measurements of cellular forces and to
control mechanical factors.  We are specifically interested in studying
the role that mechanical factors play in hemostasis, thrombosis, and
atherosclerosis. We focus on the cell mechanics of endothelials, smooth
muscle, fibroblasts, and platelets.  One of our goals is to detect and
identify the mechanical signatures that cells make with their actin-myosin
forces, which they use to contract and/or migrate.  We use 1) micro- and
nano-fabricated arrays of flexible post force-sensors to measure and apply
forces, 2) bio-functional materials to control the physiochemical
presentation to cells, and 3) computational approaches for image analysis
and cell mechanics models.  Together these engineering approaches help
to advance a pathway towards understanding how cells operate in a
physical world and how detection of mechanical changes can be early
indicators of pathological conditions.