My research focuses on the interplay between microstructure and mechanics in fibrous tissues and engineering biomaterials. I seek to understand how the fibrous collagen microstructures contribute to tissue's nonlinear biomechanics and their associated roles in tissue pathogenesis. In parallel, I design hydrogel and fibrous biomaterials with tissue-like mechanics and structure for soft tissue repair. I investigate biomechanics and biomaterials using a synergistic framework of microscopy, mechanics, and modeling. The overarching goals are: (1) Identify biomechanical cues of soft tissue diseases (eye and heart diseases) and (2) Develop tissue-mimetic biomaterials for biomedical applications.
Research Projects
Research Projects
Collagen Fiber Mechanics of Sclera
Collagen Fiber Mechanics of Sclera
Sclera, the outer shell of our eyes, consists of a dense fibrous structure of collagen fibers. Here, we are developing a fibrous finite element (FFE) model of sclera to investigate the role of collagen structure in sclera biomechanics in glaucoma. It is a novel macro-scale sclera model that directly includes microscopy-derived collagen fibers and fiber-fiber interactions. The FFE model provides novel insights into multi-scale sclera biomechanics connecting fiber-scale deformation to macro-scale tissue response.
Related publications:
- SB3C 2022 (Link)
Nanoindentation of Soft Tissues
Nanoindentation of Soft Tissues
Viscoelasticity is a universal property of soft tissues that affects cellular processes and tissue pathologies. Characterizing tissue viscoelastic properties is crucial but remains challenging, especially at the cellular length scale. We developed an indentation-based experimental and theoretical framework to characterize the viscoelasticity of soft tissues. We implemented the framework to measure the micromechanical viscoelastic and poroelastic properties of murine heart, kidney, and liver tissues.
Related publications:
- J of Biomechanics 2020 (Link)
Micromechanics of Fibrous Structures in Biology
Micromechanics of Fibrous Structures in Biology
Fibrous structures are ubiquitous in biology. Examples include extracellular matrices of collagenous tissue, cell cytoskeleton, and blood clots. Here, we study three mechanics problems of biological fibrous structures- (i) Strain stiffening and nonlinear Poisson effect in fibrous collagen structures [1,2], (ii) how cell-like inclusions affect mechanics of fibrous collagen structures [3] and (iii) failure of fibrous structures [4].
Related publications:
Multi-Scale Mechanics of Hydrogels
Multi-Scale Mechanics of Hydrogels
Mechanical properties of hydrogels are important for their biomedical applications as biomaterials. In this work, we are using multi-scale mechanical testing to characterize macro mechanics, viscoelasticity, and poroelasticity of hydrogels. We have established a rational strategy to design hydrogels with tissue-like viscoelasticity. We further developed a composite hydrogel that simultaneously provides excellent toughness and poroviscoelasticity, suitable for tissue engineering applications.
Related publications:
Mechanics of Fungal Mycelium
Mechanics of Fungal Mycelium
Mycelium is the fibrous root of fungi that can be engineered to develop low density and self-growing material. In this work, we explore mycelium mechanics through an integrated experimental and computational approach. The experimental work [1] has established mycelium as a novel biofoam material with strain dependent hysteresis and cyclic softening effect. A multi-scale stochastic continuum model [2,3] is developed which captures its nonlinear mechanical behavior.
Related publications:
