Fluid dynamics and biomechanics after central nervous system injury

• Chase Cornelison, Ph.D.
• Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
• University of Massachusetts Amherst

Abstract

• Fluid transport is integral to tissue function and homeostasis. Emerging research shows fluid flow pathways in the brain are disrupted after injury and pathology, but we currently know little about how altered fluid flow affects neural cell function. I will detail our recent work using in vitro, in vivo, and in silico tools to understand the role of interstitial fluid flow after spinal cord injury and the ongoing in vitro studies uncovering the molecular mechanisms. Our work implicates a role for fluid forces in traumatic neurodegeneration and may inform therapeutic development for minimizing tissue damage after central nervous system injury.

Speaker Biography

• Dr. Cornelison is an Assistant Professor in the new Biomedical Engineering department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He earned his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His lab studies how the cellular, extracellular, and fluid microenvironment influences neural cell and tissue function after injury, with the long-term goal of developing new therapeutics for neural tissue preservation and regeneration. His lab is funded by a NIH Trailblazer award, and he won a Young Investigator Award from the journal Cells Tissues Organs.