Assets in Cardiovascular Research
College of Engineering and College of Science
Rob MacLeod
11 Dec, 2000
This document contains a list of faculty at the University of Utah engaged
in cardiovascular research within the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and
Science. The coverage is based on my knowledge and a request for
information that went out via email to faculty and departments I could
identify.
- Brian Whisenant:
- Assistant Professor of Medicine,
Director of Interventional Cardiology. Endothelial
function, specifically thermodilution methods of blood flow
measurement. Merck, unrestricted grant to pursue this
research.
- Susan Bock:
- Professor of Internal Medicine and Bioengineering.
Dr. Bock's vascular biology research interests revolve around the
anticoagulant protein, antithrombin III (ATIII). Current vascular
biology work in the Bock lab includes projects on:
- the mechanism for heparin activation of antithrombin III,
- the development of neutrophil resistant antithrombins with
prolonged halflives in inflammatory environments,
- the structural basis of ATIII angiogenesis inhibitor
activity, and
- the physiological significance of the ATIII-beta isoform.
Current grant funding includes:
- NIH/NHLBI
R01 HL 30712
Heparin activation of antithrombin III
S.C. Bock, PI
- NIH/NHLBI
P01 HL56914, project 3 (PPG)
Neutrophil-Resistant Serpins
S.C. Bock, PI
- University of Utah Research Foundation
Technology Innovation Grant
Neutrophil-Resistant Antithrombins for the Treatment of
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
- Ed Di Bella:
- Research Assistant Professor. Dr. Di Bella is also
a member of the MIRL group and carries out research in
perfusion imaging using MRI, cardiac SPECT, and microsphere
techniques for cardiac ischemia.
- Grant Gullberg:
- Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering and
co-director of the Medical Imaging Research Lab in Nuclear
Medicine (MIRL). Dr. Gullberg carries out supported
research in topics such as:
- Improved cardiac SPECT with converging collimation
- Dynamic Cardiac SPECT
- Measuring cardiac perfusion with new contrast media in MRI.
- Donald B. Olsen:
- Professor and director, Utah Artificial Heart
Institute. His research has centered on replacing or supporting the
heart and its function. His primary efforts include: device
design, surgical implantation, and all aspects of
recipient-device interactions. Numerous studies are being
done on device performance, acceptability, and control. The
current pneumatic systems are being converted to
electrically activated devices. Noninvasive device and
recipient monitoring techniques are being studied and
developed.
- Rick Rabbitt:
- Associate Professor. (together with Grant
Gullberg, Jeff Weiss, and Alex Veress, post doc):
- Measurement of the three dimensional strain distribution in
coronary arteries and atherosclerotic plaques using
intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). IVUS data collected at 50
MHz is used to construct subject specific finite element
models. Time sequences of images along with pressure data
are then used to track the deformation and optimize
material constitutive parameters. The long term goals are
to: i) quantify the structure and constitutive properties
of normal and atherosclerotic coronary arteries and ii) to
identify plaques at risk for rupture and assist in
selecting appropriate therapeutic intervention. This work
is in collaboration with Dr. Geoffrey Vince of the
Cleveland Clinic.
- Combining subject-specific finite element models of the
heart with tagged MRI and gated SPECT data to track the
three-dimensional distribution of strain in normal and
diseased hearts. In this work, time sequences of images
are used to drive the deformation of the finite element
model to optimize the deformation based on the image data.
This work is part of a Gullberg RO1.
- M. Keith Sharp:
- Research Associate Professor. Dr. Sharp works in
biomechanical applications in cardiovascular research, for
example:
- Cardiovascular function in microgravity - Hydraulic models
of the cardiovascular system have been flown in
microgravity aboard the NASA KC-135 at the Johnson Space
Center as well as aboard the space shuttle to investigate
the changes in cardiac performance and vascular flow due
to gravity. Project objectives are to understand
physiologic adaptations to the space flight environment
and to formulate countermeasures to orthostatic
intolerance upon return to earth.
- Transport of deformable particles in viscous channel flow
- Finite element techniques are being utilized to reveal
mechanisms for the Fahreus-Lindquist effect and the
separation of red blood cells by deformability in the
presence of gravity. Results may have application to the
change in peripheral resistance recently shown to be
coupled to orthostatic intolerance in astronauts.
- Transition to turbulence in oscillatory flow - A novel
Laser-induced photochemical anemometry (LIPA) technique
has been used to visualize the development of turbulent
spots in oscillatory flow. This project is expected to
lead to new understanding of the origins of turbulence in
all types of flows, including blood flow in the arteries.
- Hemolysis in phlebotomy needles and catheters - This
experimental project seeks to determine the effects of
parameters such as needle length, diameter and material on
red cell damage during blood draws. Scaling laws are being
developed for the amount of hemolysis as well as the
threshold below which hemolysis does not occur.
- Impact of blood rheology on vascular flow - Empirical
viscoelastic constitutive equations and measurements of
arterial flows have been used to estimate the effect of
the non-Newtonian properties of blood on the character of
flow in the arteries.
- Henk Meuzelaar, MD, PhD:
- Professor and Director, Center for
MicroAnalysis and Reaction Chemistry. Cardiopulmonary effects of
air pollution in general, and fine particulate matter (PM)
pollution in particular. A currently funded project to investigate
the ``physiological effects of exposure to transient PM episodes at
the US/Mexico border'' (sponsored by a small SCERP/EPA grant) uses
telemedical ECG and spirometry devices to record the
cardiopulmonary functions of healthy toll booth workers at the
International Bridge in Hidalgo (Texas).
- Mikhail Skliar:
- Assistant Professor. Works with the Artificial
Organs Lab in
physiologically motivated feedback control of cardiac assist
devices, both ventricular assist devices and the total artificial
heart.
- Jules Magda:
- Associate Professor. Pursues research on hydrogel
sensors for measuring the concentration of glucose and other
analytes in the blood
- Om Ghandi:
- Professor of Electrical Engineering. Working on
inverse problems using the data that from MEG and MCG, with most
progress so far in the MEG inverse problem. o funding presently for
this research but hope to apply to NIH early next year.
- Robert Roemer:
- Professor and Department Head. Dr. Roemer works
in thermal problems as they arise in many fields, including
biomedical applications of tumor detection and treatment. He has
also published results on thermodilution techniques in blood flow.
- Mark Minor:
- Assistant Professor. Dr. Minor is a new faculty at
Utah whose expertise is in design, development, and control of
robotic instrumentation. He has designed dexterous MIS
instrumentation intended for aortal femoral bypass to be used with
a surgical robot. He is interested in developing robotic
instrumentation for cardiac and vascular catheter systems.
- Gary M. Sandquist:
- Professor. Dr. Sandquist authored a paper
(Sandquist, Olsen, Kolff), which presented a simple, but complete
mathematical model for the circulatory system. The model was
employed in analyzing the articifical heart performance. He would
be interested in continuing research in this area if there is
potential support for it.
- Dennis Bramble:
- Professor of Biology. The primary research
interest is the functional morphology of mammalian
locomotor-respiratory interactions, their physiological
consequences and, ultimately, a better understanding of their
evolutionary history. They are currently using a variety of
experimental techniques to document the patterns of interaction
between gait and breathing cycles and to clarify their
biomechanical bases. These approaches include synchronized high
speed light and cineradiographic filming of running mammals
combined with pneumotachographic recordings of respiratory flow.
- David Carrier:
- Assistant Professor of Biology. His research is
directed toward developing an understanding of the ways in which
locomotion has influenced the evolution of vertebrates. Recently,
this has concerned the coupling of the locomotor and ventilatory
systems.
- Aaron Fogelson:
- Professor of Mathematics. Aaron Fogelson's
research centers on formulating mathematical models to explore the
complex and dynamic biochemical and biophysical interactions that
make up platelet aggregation and blood coagulation. Grant support
in this research area includes:
- NSF DMS-9805518 ``Computational Modeling of Platelet
Aggregation and Coagulation, and Development of Software
for Biofluid Dynamics Problems''
- Jim Keener:
- Professor of Mathematics. Jim Keener has a number
of ongoing projects in the cardiovascular area:
- Investigation of the effect of inhomogeneous tissue
resistivity on large current stimuli and their efficacy for
defibrillation,
- Diffusion of protons in cardiac cells (for Ken Spitzer);
injury currents in borders zones of ischemic tissue and
their relationship to ectopy,
- The effect of geometry on the release of calcium from RyR
receptors and the coordination of calcium sparks in failing
hearts (work related to Sheldon Litwin),
- Development of numerical algorithms for the solution of
anisotropic elliptic partial differential equations on
irregular domains, with emphasis on the bidomain model for
cardiac tissue.
- (joint with Aaron Fogelson) Regulation of cell volume and
ionic concentrations, especially extracellular potassium,
during ischemia.
- The regulation of HSP-70 and its role
in preventing permanent damage during ischemia.
Assets in Cardiovascular Research
College of Engineering and College of Science
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Rob MacLeod
2000-12-11