Congratulations to Dr. Hyungsuk Lee!! January 27th, 2012

Congratulations to Dr. Hyungsuk Lee who has accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Yonsei University in Korea. Congratulations Hyungsuk!!

Picture of the Month – January 2012 January 12th, 2012

Micropatterned ventricular muscle cells from a mouse illustrated various stages of cell spreading on a soft hydrogel that mimics the microenvironment of cardiac tissue. The phases of the moon inspired the design. Image by Yvonne Aratyn and Sean Sheehy, Parker lab.

Congrats to Dr. Anna Grosberg et al!! November 23rd, 2011

Congratulations to Anna Grosberg, Pat Alford, Megan McCain, and Kit Parker for an outstanding image from their recent publication entitled “Ensembles of engineered cardiac tissues for physiological and pharmacological study: Heart on a chip” in Lab Chip, 2011, 11(24), 4165 – 4173. The image was selected as the journal cover page. Great job all!

Congrats to Professor Pat Alford et al!! November 17th, 2011

Congratulations to Pat Alford, Peyton Nesmith, Johannes Seywerd, Anya Grosberg, and Kit Parker for an outstanding image from their recent publication entitled “Vascular smooth muscle contractility depends on cell shape” in Integrative Biology, 2011, 3(11), 1063-1070. The image was selected as the journal cover page. Great job all!

Postdoctoral Positions in the DBG October 14th, 2011

We have several open postdoctoral positions in neuroscience/neuroengineering and marine biomechanics:

1. Neuroscience/neuroengineering: We are building small brain pieces for drug discovery and safety pharmacology, as well as to test our own theories about information processing in the brain. Our primary interest is building a 1 mm^3 amygdala.

2. Marine biomechanics: We are interested in uncovering the design laws, conserved across species, of muscular pumps. This includes marine organisms such as cephalopods and jellyfish. Correlating muscular architecture to hydrodynamic performance is the primary objective of these studies.

All of these positions require a doctoral degree in an appropriate field and a demonstrated publication record in the field. Applications in the form of a single PDF file containing a cover letter, resume, and up to three examples of first author papers should be forwarded to Prof Parker (kkparker@seas.harvard.edu). A list of references should be submitted with the resume with contact information. Please state “Postdoctoral Applicant – X” in the subject line, where X is either neuroscience/neuroengineering or marine biomechanics as appropriate.

42. Shim J, Grosberg A, Nawroth JC, Parker KK, Bertoldi K. Modeling of cardiac muscle thin films: Pre-stretch, passive and active behavior. J. Biomech. 2012 Jan 12, doi:10.1016 [Epub ahead of print]

41. Sheehy SP, Parker KK. The Role of Mechanical Forces in Guiding Tissue Differentiation. In: Bernstein H, editor. Tissue Engineering in Regenerative Medicine. Springer; 2011. p 77-97.

40. Balachandran K, Alford PW, Wylie-Sears J, Goss JA, Grosberg A, Bischoff J, Aikawa E, Levine RA, Parker KK. Cyclic strain induces dual-mode endothelial-mesenchymal transformation of the cardiac valve. PNAS 2011 Nov 28 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22123981.

39. McCain ML, Desplantez T, Geisse NA, Rothen-Rutishauser B, Oberer H, Parker KK, Kleber AG. Cell-to-cell coupling in engineered pairs of rat ventricular cardiomyocytes: relation between Cx43 immunofluorescence and intercellular electrical conductance. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 302: H443–H450, 2012. PubMed PMID: 22081700.

38. Mellado P, McIlwee HA, Badrossamay MR, Goss JA, Mahadevan L, Parker KK. A simple model for nanofiber formation by rotary jet-spinning. Appl. Phys. Lett. 99(20), 203107, 2011 Nov 15. [Epub ahead of print]

37. Grosberg A, Alford PW, McCain ML, Parker KK. Ensembles of engineered cardiac tissues for physiological and pharmacological study: Heart on a chip. Lab Chip. 2011, 11(24), 4165 – 4173. PubMed PMID: 22072288.

36. Alford PW, Nesmith AP, Seywerd, JN, Grosberg A, Parker KK. Vascular smooth muscle contractility depends on cell shape. Integr. Biol. 2011, 3(11), 1063-1070.