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BioE Seminar Series Presents: Jessica Wagenseil
December 2, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Jessica Wagenseil, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University, St. Louis MO
“Elastin mechanobiology in aortic development”
ABSTRACT:
The extracellular matrix protein, elastin, provides reversible extensibility to the aorta that is critical for proper function of the cardiovascular system. Elastin is deposited during late embryonic and early postnatal growth, at the same time that blood pressure and flow are increasing. This relationship suggests that mechanobiological signals for elastin deposition are linked to hemodynamic forces. I will discuss how reduced or absent elastin affects aortic mechanics, cardiovascular hemodynamics, and aortic wall development in genetically modified mouse models. I will also discuss how altered hemodynamics, specifically reduced blood flow, affects elastin amounts, aortic mechanics, and wall development in developing chick embryos. I will introduce mathematical models that we use to better understand the cause and effect relationships between elastin amounts and cardiovascular hemodynamics. The combination of experimental work in diverse animal models and mathematical modeling will advance our understanding of how the aortic wall is constructed to provide appropriate extensibility for normal cardiovascular function. The knowledge will aid in designing tissue-engineered arteries and in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases associated with elastin defects
BIOGRAPHY:
Dr. Wagenseil joined the Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Department at Washington University in 2013. She was previously in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Saint Louis University. She got her B.S. at UC San Diego and did her doctoral and postdoctoral training at Washington University. Dr. Wagenseil studies vascular mechanics focusing on the extracellular matrix in development and disease. Dr. Wagenseil received the 2020 Renato Iozzo Award from the American Society for Matrix Biology
If interested in attending, please email Elizabeth Chesley at e.chesley@northeastern.edu for the Zoom link.