Research interests Our laboratory's interests focus on soft tissue and cellular biomechanics.
More recently we have been measuring with an atomic force microscope the stress-strain properties of cardiac fibroblasts and endothelial cells with a focus on delineating the contribution of the cytoskeleton to the cellular properties. We are also actively studying the response of these cells to mechanical stimuli such as cyclic stretching with the goal of identifying the cellular structures that serve as mechanotransducers. A multiaxial constitutive law for actively contracting mammalian left ventricular myocardium. A constitutive law for mitral valve tissue. The effect of contraction, perfusion pressure, and muscle length on intramyocardial pressure in rat papillary muscle.