Seminar in SMMEE : Mechanics of Living Tissues: In Sickness and in Health

Title: Mechanics of Living Tissues: In Sickness and in Health
Speaker: Dr. Namrata Gundiah
Location: L2
Date: 05-Apr-2013 (Fri)
Time: 2pm

Abstract:

Living tissues are complex, composite and heterogeneous structures comprised ofconstituents that exhibit nonlinear and viscoelastic material properties. Tissues havea remarkable ability to alter their size, shape and material properties in response tomechanical stimuli such as during growth or in disease. Changes in tissue structureoccur over hierarchical scales ranging from the molecular, cell, tissue to organ levelsand over differing times that can ultimately affect the organismal function. The study ofbiomechanics is hence both fascinating and challenging and aims to apply methods inphysics and engineering to quantify processes governing cellular and tissue properties.During the course of my talk, I will discuss the mechanics of a rubber protein, elastin,isolated from vertebrate arteries. I will also focus on recent investigations in my labto characterize the mechanical signature of individual cells when adhering to softsubstrates and their response to physical cues. Through such studies, I hope to highlightthe need for interdisciplinary research to address complex problems at the interface ofbiology and engineering.

About the Speaker:

Namrata Gundiah is an Assistant Professor at the Department of MechanicalEngineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore since November, 2008. Herresearch interests are broadly in the area of nonlinear mechanics of cardiovasculartissues and in cell mechanobiology. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked as apostdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. She has a Ph.D. inMechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and M.Sc. in Physicsfrom the Department of Physics, University of Pune.