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Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1998
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
UVA Health System
PO Box 800759, Room 2324
Charlottesville, VA 22908
bblackman@virginia.edu
Laboratory web site
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Research Interests
In the cardiovascular system, mechanical forces play a significant role in
regulating many biological and physiological functions. Vascular endothelial
cells reside on the interior wall of blood vessels where they form a continuous
lining of the cardiovascular system. As a result of the pulsatile nature of
blood flow, these cells continuously encounter a complex distribution of forces
(e.g., shear, hoop, axial, and normal stress) that are variable throughout the
circulation and depend on the local geometry, elasticity of the vessel wall,
peripheral resistance, and heart rate. Under physiological conditions, the endothelium
is responsive to this diverse mechanical environment and plays an active role
in the regulation of acute vascular responses (e.g., vascular reactivity, inflammation,
coagulation) and the chronic maintenance of the homeostatic environment for
resident tissues.
Our laboratory is interested in identifying molecular mechanisms by which biomechanical
forces, generated within the cardiovascular system, are sensed by vascular endothelial
cells, and how this sensing regulates endothelial cell activity and phenotype.
The importance of this research is motivated, in part, by achieving a basic
understanding of how mechanical stresses exerted on the endothelium can modulate
the cell's ability to adapt to local hemodynamic and biochemical stimuli under
physiological and pathological conditions (e.g., heart disease, stroke, vascular
remodeling).
Current research projects are focused on identifying the basic cellular mechanisms
of mechanotransduction (i.e., how an externally applied mechanical force activates
intracellular biochemical signaling events) and understanding how the cell utilizes
these mechanisms to sense distinct aspects of the flow environment.
To investigate our hypotheses the lab uses several interdisciplinary approaches
and tools in cell and molecular biology and engineering. We currently are using
novel in vitro flow models capable of reproducing the dynamic flow conditions
experienced in the human arterial and venous circulation and exposing them to
vascular cells in culture. A microscope mounted model allows us to monitor these
cells in real-time (phase/DIC/fluorescence) under unique and well-defined flow
paradigms.
Selected Publications
Hastings NE, Simmers MB, McDonald OG, Wamhoff BR, Blackman BR.
Atherosclerosis-prone hemodynamics differentially regulates
endothelial and smooth muscle cell phenotypes and promotes
pro-inflammatory priming.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2007 Dec;293(6):C1824-33.
Simmers MB, Pryor AW, Blackman BR.
Arterial shear stress regulates endothelial cell-directed migration,
polarity, and morphology in confluent monolayers.
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2007 Sep;293(3):H1937-46.
Orr AW, Stockton R, Simmers MB, Sanders JM, Sarembock IJ, Blackman BR,
Schwartz MA.
Matrix-specific p21-activated kinase activation regulates vascular
permeability in atherogenesis.
J Cell Biol. 2007 Feb 26;176(5):719-27.
Gelfand BD, Epstein FH, Blackman BR.
Spatial and spectral heterogeneity of time-varying shear stress profiles in the carotid bifurcation by phase-contrast MRI.
J Magn Reson Imaging. 2006 Dec;24(6):1386-92.
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