Objectives

The aim of the Summer School is to present a state-of-the-art introduction and overview of biomechanical and mechanobiological modeling at different length scales, with an emphasis on soft biological tissue. The lectures will discuss biomolecules and networks, the cytoskeleton and cells as well as macroscopic continuum models for soft tissues, including arteries, the heart, eyes and the brain.
The mechanics of the whole cell and sub-cellular components will be discussed with particular emphasis on endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells and their mechanochemical activation. This links to the discussion of growth and remodeling, which builds on the constituents of soft tissue, including smooth muscle, elastin and collagen. Applications of growth and remodeling that are considered include the response of arteries to hypertension and the analysis of mechanopathological changes such as aortic and cerebral aneurysm formation.
Experimental approaches for determining the mechanobiological properties of aneurismal tissue will be discussed along with diffusion and mass transport through the tissue. The discussion of arteries is underpinned by a detailed review of the fundamental structure of the arterial wall and related constitutive modeling, including the important effect of residual stresses. Models for cells and soft tissues are presented with particular reference to the collagen fiber structure. In addition, the fundamental biomechanics of brain tissues and the eye in health and disease are examined on the basis of experimental data and material and computational models.
Biomechanical modeling of soft tissues requires application of continuum mechanics, and a summary of the key ingredients of this theory is therefore provided. The theory is then used to establish a framework for modeling the elasticity of the tissues and for characterizing their material properties.
Throughout the course the lecturers will point to future directions for research in the different areas of biomechanics and mechanobiology.

Audience

The Summer School is addressed to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in biomedical engineering, (bio)physics, mechanical and civil engineering, applied mathematics, physiology and materials science and more senior scientists and engineers (including some from relevant industries) whose interests are in the area of biomechanics and mechanobiology.