McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Affiliated Faculty Member Studies Cerebral Aneurysms
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Anne Robertson, PhD (pictured), has been awarded a $423,852 R21 grant from the National Institute of Health for a research program entitled “The link between hemodynamics and wall structure in cerebral aneurysms.” Her research team includes Juan Cebral, PhD of George Mason University, Khaled Abdel Aziz, MD of Allegheny General Hospital, and McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Simon Watkins, PhD, founder and director of the Center for Biologic Imaging, director of the Graduate Program, and a professor (with tenure) within the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, and a member of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI).
Cerebral aneurysms are pathological enlargements of the walls of cerebral arteries and estimated to exist in 5-8% of the adult population. Their spontaneous rupture is responsible for 80% of subarachnoid hemorrhagic strokes, a devastating disease with high mortality and disability rates This multi-disciplinary team will use an integrated, multi-scale approach to determine the link between aneurysm blood flow, wall structure, and wall strength. The long-term objectives of the research team are to establish new pharmacological-based treatment methods for cerebral aneurysms and improve clinical treatments that function by altering flow in the aneurysm dome.
Dr. Robertson is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. Dr. Robertson’s research interests are in continuum mechanics with particular emphasis on (i) Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid dynamics, (ii) cerebral vascular disease, and (iii) constitutive modeling of soft biological tissues. She earned her BS in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and her MS and PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
Illustration: McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.