Event
BIOE Seminar: Craig Simmons
Friday, November 15, 2019
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
A. James Clark Hall, Room 2132
Emily Rosenthal
301 405 3936
erosent1@umd.edu
Dr. Craig Simmons
Research Chair in Mechanobiology
University of Toronto
Mechanobiological insights into the mechanisms of aortic valve disease
Heart valves are remarkably robust connective tissues that are essential for proper heart function. Dysfunction of the aortic heart valve in particular has dire consequences and is not treatable medically. Valve dysfunction results from maladaptive tissue remodeling by resident mesenchymal stem cells that differentiate to myofibroblasts and osteoblasts to cause fibrosis and calcification, respectively. Notably, valve lesions form preferentially in regions that correlate spatially with distinct hemodynamic and extracellular matrix microenvironments; these correlations may provide insights into the factors that contribute to valve homeostasis and disease. In this talk, I will present our work aimed at identifying the cellular and molecular regulators of valve (patho)biology, with particular focus on how hemodynamics and extracellular matrix mechanical properties modulate pathological differentiation of valve progenitor cells. I will also describe microtechnologies that we have created to enable these and other mechanobiology studies.
Craig Simmons is the University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Mechanobiology in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering. His research group studies the role of mechanical forces in cardiovascular disease and regeneration, aided by novel microfluidic platforms to model vascularized tissues and organs with high physiological fidelity. Craig also leads over 100 researchers from engineering and medicine as the University of Toronto’s Scientific Director in the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, a new initiative that aims to dramatically improve heart health with particular focus on cardiac fibrosis, diagnostics, and regenerative medicine.
