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Department of Biomedical Engineering

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Research

Our laboratory investigates the role of mechanical forces on physiology, function and disease. In particular, we are interested in understanding the interaction between structure and mechanics in regulating biological responses at different length-scales.

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We employ micro- and nano-fabrication tools to recreate the cellular and tissue environment in the laboratory. We also utilize live imaging, cell/tissue mechanics and tissue engineering techniques to understand several cardio and cerebrovascular bioengineering problems including cardiac valve calcification, valve fusion and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Knowledge gained from these studies will help guide the development of medical interventions and regenerative therapies.

Recent Posts

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Latest Publications

A three-dimensional valve-on-chip microphysiological system implicates cell cycle progression, cholesterol metabolism and protein homeostasis in early calcific aortic valve disease progression

Ishita Tandon, Alan E. Woessner, Lais A. Ferreira, Christine Shamblin, Gustavo Vaca-Diez, Amanda Walls, Patrick Kuczwara, Alexis Applequist, Denise F. Nascimento, Swastika Tandon, Jin-Woo Kim, Manuel Rausch, Tomasz Timek, Muralidhar Padala, Michael T. Kinter, Dennis Province, Stephanie D. Byrum, Kyle P. Quinn & Kartik Balachandran

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) elevates the risk of death due to cardiovascular pathophysiology by 50 %, however, prevention and mitigation strategies are lacking, clinically. Developing tools to assess early disease would significantly aid in the prevention of disease and in the development of therapeutics. We fabricated a bi-layered hydrogel that closely mimics the aortic valve and used it for valve cell co-culture in a dynamic platform to gain mechanistic insights into the CAVD initiation process using proteomic and multiphoton imaging assessment.

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