Cell and Tissue Mechanics - BME54200
This course develops and applies scaling approaches and simplified models to biomechanical phenomena at molecular, cellular, and tissue level.
Topics include: Molecular forces; Viscous drag; Brownian motion; Diffusion; Polymer mechanics; Polymer dynamics; Molecular motors; Cytoskeleton; Viscoelasticity; Membrane; Cell migration; Cell adhesion; Mechanobiology; Mechanotransduction; Elastic, viscoelastic, and poroelastic behavior of tissues; Cell-matrix interaction
Student Learning Outcomes: The student who successfully completes this course will be able to:
- analytically solve basic biomechanics problems or estimate their approximate solutions
- utilize gained knowledge to interpret experimental results related to biomechanics and characterize them in the form of equations
- develop computational models for biological systems or design experiments
Pre-requisites This course is recommended for undergraduate students who have taken introductory courses related to differential equations (MA 261 or 262) and molecular cell biology (BIOL 230).
Text Recommended:
- C.R. Jacobs, H. Huang, R.Y. Kwon, Introduction to Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology, 2012
- D. Boal, Mechanics of the Cell, 2001.
- J.D. Humphrey and S.L. O'Rourke, An Introduction to Biomechanics, 2015.