The Billiar lab works to understand how mechanical forces affect the cells living in the body’s soft tissues. Soft tissues of the body experience forces during exercise (muscles contract and pull on tendons and ligaments) and at rest (blood vessels stretch with each heartbeat, digestive organs stretch and contract during eating). A better understanding of how a cells “feel” forces, interpret these stimuli, and alter their behavior will aid in creating treatments, and even curing, of a number of diseases from heart valve disease to cancer.
2 minutes introduction by Prof. Kristen Billiar
See what studies we are conducting in our lab!
Our lab includes and appreciates people of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and gender identities and includes postdocs, graduate students, undergraduates, and high school students.
Dr. Billiar elected to Biomedical Engineering Society Board of Directors
It is an honor to have been elected as the Secretary of BMES and member of the Board. The Society and its members have provided me with a strong scientific and educational community and wonderful mentorship for my professional growth and leadership skills. I believe the role of a professional society is to provide overall leadership to the field, serve as a unifying voice, and facilitate “grass roots” programs in industry, academia, and local chapters to advance the field. Read more
Prof. Billiar Receives NIH Grant to Build the Next Generation of Biomedical Researchers
The U-RISE@Wπ at WPI started in April 2024 and is supported by a $1,636,820 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will provide tuition and stipend funding, research opportunities, and academic and personal support to 15 students from populations underrepresented in biomedical research over five years to prepare the students for advanced studies and careers in research. The program is expected to improve the retention and graduation rates of WPI undergraduates from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds. Read More
Congrats to Colin, Ashley, Grace, Mahvash, and Rozanne on their recent paper
In their paper in Cells (open access), Coutts et al. show that in a valvular interstitial cell spheroid model of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), antioxidants reduce calcification. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is especially potent, possibly because it also induces ECM production within the spheoids.
Prof. Billiar awarded John Milton Higgins Professorship
In recognition of Prof. Billiar’s outstanding contributions in research, teaching and service, he was appointed by President Grace Wang and Dean John McNeill the John Milton Higgins Professor, effective January 1, 2023.
Congrats. Prof. B!
Congrats to Rozanne on her SB3C talk!
Heartfelt congratulations Ph.D. student Rozanne on an excellent talk at SB3C! This past week, she attended the 2023 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SB3C 2023) in Colorado, participating in lectures, symposia, and workshops. Bravo Rozanne!
Well done Juanyong on a fantastic presentation at SB3C!
Congrats to Juanyong on an excellent talk at SB3C! He and others traveled to the 2023 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SB3C 2023) in Colorado this past week to participate in various events and lectures. Congratulations Juanyong!
Prof. Kristen Billiar is awarded grant from NIH to further heart valve research
Researcher, professor, and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at WPI Kristen Billiar has been given a $429,456 grant from the National Institute of Health. This endowment will support an existing project investigating the behavior of cardiovascular cells on artificial heart valves in response to mechanical stimuli. Building on his previous research involving calcium deposition causing aortic valve failure and mechanical regulation of apoptosis, Billiar hopes to better understand how mechanical forces affect cell movement and growth.
Read the full article here: https://www.wpi.edu/news/wpi-researcher-leads-project-determine-how-stretching-and-blood-flow-impact-engineered-heart-valves
Congrats to Ying on her Biofabrication publication!
Congrats to Ying on publishing her paper in Biofabridation entitled “Reducing retraction in engineered tissues through design of sequential growth factor treatment.” She and colleagues designed TGF-β1 and FGF-2 based growth factor treatments and successfully reduced tissue retraction by 85% and increased the ECM elastic modulus by 260% compared to non-growth factor treated controls without significantly increasing the contractile force. She also mathematically modeled the behavior! https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/accd24
Our new paper is here!
Our new paper, “Multicellular Aligned Bands Disrupt Global Collective Cell Behavior“ is here. Please let us know what you think! To read please click on the hyperlink of the paper’s name.
Our new paper!
Our new paper “Hyaluronic Acid Regulates Heart Valve Interstitial Cell Contraction in Fibrin-based Scaffolds” is now available to download for free until December 12th.
To download please click here.