Intradiscal Injection: Needle injection is a common method of delivering drugs, stem cells, and other therapeutic agents into the intervertebral disc. However, tissue damage caused by the needle creates a ready pathway for pressurized injectate to leak back out of the disc. Our group uses a combination of experimental injections and mathematical models of fluid pressurization to look for ways to improve both safety and efficacy of these treatments.
Residual Strain: Non-uniform deposition of tissue material can result in internal deformations which remain even in the absence of external load. Our group works to understand how these deformations may modulate tissue stresses under load.
Patterning and Development of the IVD: The outer annulus of the intervertebral disc is composed of concentric layers of helically wound collagen fibers, the inclinations of which vary spatially. We are developing a series of computational models capable of predicting fiber angle distributions from clinical imaging.
Meniscus Mechanics: The meniscii are fibrocartilagenous structures which help distribute contact pressure in the knee joint. Our group studies how proteoglycan molecules (which are non-uniformly distributed) in the meniscus affect hydraulic swelling and contact stiffness of the tissue.
