Our research is driven by a unique blend of curiosity and applied engineering. We desire to understand and solve real life problems motivated from fundamental principles of applied mechanics. Biological systems have a remarkable ability to respond to a mechanical stimulus by undergoing deformation (e.g. extension, contraction), remodeling and in some cases irreversible damage. These basic mechanical processes underlie a range of higher order phenomena in health and disease including many aspects of cancer, cardiovascular disease, brain injury, and even malaria. How biological systems respond to internal and external mechanical stimuli is still a topic of intense ongoing research.
In our lab, we are specifically interested in understanding the role of physical (mechanical) forces in injury prognosis, especially under extreme environments such as impact and blast. We are also interested in predicting (for the range of scenarios) magnitudes and likely locations of injury a priori, which is often difficult using radiological imaging even post-injury. One of the primary challenges associated with these understandings is a strongly coupled multi-physics phenomena at multiple length- and time-scales. As such, the structure-function relationships are incredibly complex and often non-intuitive. Here, multi-scale mechanics combined with the emerging fields of high-resolution quantitative imaging and computational modeling can play a vital role. We also want to device better ways of mitigation by suppressing key mechanisms that are responsible for an irreversible damage or injury.
This research, which falls under the broad category of 'injury biomechanics', has a potential to accelerate development of technologies for diagnosis, mitigation, and prevention of injury. Our ultimate goal is to develop the science and technology that protects people, structures and the environment around us. The lab is in nascent stages of its development, so we are looking for resources in terms of students, research grants, and consultancy work. Feel free to contact us if you think we can help you or you can help us.