research.biomechanics

DukeBME Program in Biomechanics

Biomechanics research in the department focuses upon mechanics at the cellular, tissue, and joint level with applications in orthopaedics and musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems.

The injury and orthopaedic biomechanics group (Dr. Barry Myers, Dr. Roger Nightingale and Dr. Michael Prange) investigates the clinically relevant biomechanical research problems of injury and maintains a close relationship with the clinical faculty of the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke. Experimental and computational methods are used to develop and validate models of soft and hard tissue behavior.

Work in the Tissue Mechanics Laboratory (Dr. Lori Setton) focuses on material characterization of native and healing biological tissues as well as tissue engineered biomaterial constructs. Material testing methods and constitutive models are used to describe the mechanical behaviors of these tissues in compression, tension and shear.

Cell biomechanics research focuses upon chondrocytes (Drs. Setton, Farshid Guilak), epithelium, mucosal extracellular matrix (Dr. DavidKatz), and endothelium (Drs. Reichert and George Truskey). This work is accomplished using micropipet aspiration, atomic force microscopy, flow chamber assays, rheometry, and computational methods. Experimental and computational hemodynamic simulations (Dr. Morton Friedman) support research carried out under the Biomedical Imaging Program and in the Center for Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering.

Collaborations exist with faculty in the divisions of Cardiology, Hematology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, and Rheumatology at the Medical Center and with faculty in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering.

BME graduate faculty doing research in this area:

Morton H. Friedman
Computational and Experimental Hemodynamics

David F. Katz
Cell Biomechanics - Epithelium, Reproductive Biomedicine

Barry S. Myers
Injury and Orthopaedic Biomechanics

William M. Reichert
Cell Biomechanics - Endothelium, Biosensors

Lori A. Setton
Soft Tissue Mechanics

George Truskey
Cell Biomechanics - Endothelium, Lipoprotein Transport and Cell Adhesion

Mark Dewhirst
Hyperthermia, Tumor Microcirculation (Primary Appointment in Radiation Oncology)

Farshid Guilak
Orthopaedic Biomechanics, Cell and Tissue Engineering (Primary Appointment in Orthopaedic Surgery)

David Needham
(Primary Appointment in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science)

Roger Nightingale
Injury and Orthopaedic Biomechanics

Doris Taylor
Cellular Cardiomyoplasty (Primary Appointment in Cardiology)