Objective
The influence of mechanical stimuli on cell behaviour also known as mechanobiology has led to the development of mechano-regulation theories and finite element simulations that predict tissue formation in regenerative medicine. Computer simulations can explore mechanotransduction processes on the cellular level which are not possible to measure experimentally. However, most studies are limited to continuum macroscopic description of the tissues and therefore are inadequate to relate macroscopic loading to microscopic mechanical stimuli. The main objective of this project is to reach new frontiers in mechanobiology with the development of a new approach in the modelling of tissue engineering with an integration of the microscopic modelling of cells with the macroscopic modelling of the scaffold. A discrete approach to model the porous scaffold will be combined with a multitude analyses of single cell biomechanics attached onto the scaffold. In order to validate the overall methodology, each of the different modelling steps will be modelled through the development of in vitro experiments on adult human mesenchymal stem cells. The breakthrough of this project will change considerably the methodology used previously by the scientific community in this field and in the development of the biomedical field regarding computer modelling. The impact of this project will bring a better understanding of the local mechanical stimuli on cells and the understanding of the translation of mechanical macroscopic loading onto microscopic loading.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
ERC-2010-StG_20091028
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Funding Scheme
ERC-SG - ERC Starting GrantHost institution
S10 2TN Sheffield
United Kingdom