Research

Mechanobiology is the study of how physical forces and changes in mechanical properties of tissues contribute to cell behavior. Cells respond to biomechanical forces within their extracellular matrix niche through mechanotransduction, this process converts extracellular mechanical stimuli to intracellular biochemical signals. As immune cells traverse across multiple tissue types and also into pathophysiological situations, we are interested to determine the possibility of immune cells responding to differences in variations in tissue properties. Thus far, we have determined that dendritic cells and macrophages have distinct responses in collagen matrices of different density, and we now aim to elucidate the mechanisms of immunomechanobiology. We further studied macrophage behavior in the context of atherosclerosis disease whereby progression changes the matrice stiffness.

While our physiological development resulted in permanent lymph nodes, tertiary lymphoid organs are temporary in nature and develops in response to chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Both lymph nodes and tertiary lymphoid organs are vital in disease resolution and disease progression. Tertiary lymphoid organs and lymph nodes have cellular players, anatomical organization, chemokine pool, and vascular similarities and our lab aims to use our growing knowledge on immunomechanobiology and bioengineering techniques to recapitulate such organs in vitro for mechanistic studies, as well as translational applications.

It is well known that space travel compromises the immune system and from our studies, it has emerged that the potency of antigen presenting cells of the innate immune system responds to variations of tissue mechanical properties differentially. We would like to further investigate immunomechanobiology in microgravity. Our disease models can also be reproduced in simulated microgravity to further understand pathophysiology in mankind's search for new frontiers.