Event
ChBE Seminar Series: Adam Hsieh
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Room 2110, Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
Professor Nam Sun Wang
(301) 405-1910
nsw@umd.edu
Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: at the Intersection of Transport, Nanostructure, Mechanics, and Biology
Presented by Adam Hsieh
Fischell Department of Bioengineering
University of Maryland
Intervertebral discs are the soft tissue structures in the spine that function to cushion loads and provide flexibility. Degenerative disc disease is a chronic disorder characterized by extensive changes in the structure and function of the tissue. While the precise mechanisms of disc degeneration are unclear, its initiation and progression are believed to be closely linked to various factors such as nutrient delivery, spinal load-bearing, and genetics. Most of this seminar will review the contributions of these factors, with particular attention to transport and structural issues at different levels of scale. We will then touch on some of the studies that we have been performing in our lab to examine the role of these factors on intervertebral disc cell function.