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
Our new paper is here!
Our new paper, Heterogeneity profoundly alters emergent stress fields in constrained multicellular systems, is downloadable for free by February 26th!
Exploring Life and Death of Cells: Billiar Lab Research Could Lead to Better Understanding of Cancer, Heart Disease
National and international media outlets reported on our research who hopes to close an important gap in the understanding of physical factors that help regulate the life and death of cells in our bodies, and the important roles they play in the development of a wide range of disorders. Read more
Marketplace-By the Numbers (public radio), Le Lezard (France),
BioPortfolio, Arizona Republic, Renewable Energy World North America, Houston Chronicle, BioMedicine, Seattlepi, Times-Union (Albany), The Advocate (Stamford, CT) and San Antonio Express were among the more than 100 media outlets reporting the work, which is funded by a National Science Foundation grant and includes co-principle investigators Nima Rahbar, associate professor of civil & environmental engineering, and Qi Wen, associate professor of physics.
Zach Goldblatt selected to compete in PhD competition at SB3C
Zach has been selected as one of 36 finalists to give an oral presentation at the Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (June 25 – 28, 2019, Seven Springs, Pennsylvania)