Research Interests
The overarching goal of my research is to quantify the microscale fluid-mechanical forces that cause lung injury in order to predict optimal patient-specific lung-protective mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation is a necessary life-saving intervention in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the pressures and flows of ventilation cause ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) through the fluid-mechanical forces that occur during the collapse and reopening of alveoli and airways (atelectrauma), parenchymal overdistension (volutrauma), and the inflammatory response (biotrauma). VILI instigates a positive feedback mechanism of injury and altered alveolar micromechanics and, as such, preventing VILI is a key step in reducing the approximately 40% mortality associated with ARDS. Since ARDS affects approximately 200,000 patients per year in the United States my research has significant life-saving potential.
