The following Huck-sponsored projects have been selected for funding through the IPDR initiative in the 2024-25 funding cycle:
Data-driven computational modeling of aneurysms
Penn State Researcher: Wenrui Hao, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
MSI Researcher: Mingchao Cai, Department of Mathematics, Morgan State University
We aim to develop and validate a personalized computational model, the Multi-layered Pathological Aneurysm Interacted with Blood Fluid (MPAIBF), for predicting the growth and rupture potential of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The MPAIBF model will integrate experimental data from the Framingham dataset of AAA, including in-vivo imaging, cardiovascular parameters, and biomarkers, to provide a personalized prediction of AAA growth and rupture risk with high accuracy.
Our approach departs from traditional predictive techniques by incorporating AAA pathophysiology into the data analysis process. This requires calibrating and validating the MPAIBF model and translating it into AAA patients for personalized rupture-risk prediction. This innovative methodology offers a promising new way to understand AAA pathogenesis and predict personalized rupture risk, with potential applications in personalized medicine.
In addition, this collaboration between Penn State and Morgan State University will initiate a new partnership in the computational modeling of cardiovascular disease.
Ultrasound microfluidic cell manipulation and separation
Penn State Researcher: Igor Aronson, Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Mathematics
MSI Researcher: Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez
Co-Sponsoring Institute: Materials Research Institute (MRI)
Ultrasound is routinely used to focus and separate spherical microbeads, cells, or particles with different properties, e.g., density or shape. While several investigations have been performed exploring how different particle shapes affect movement, there has been no focus on different channel geometries, and little is known about how anisotropic and heterogeneous particles behave in microfluidic channels of complex shapes, e.g., nozzles and funnels.
Understanding transport in microfluidic channels with a converging nozzle is essential, as the flow rate increases with the width decrease. Many practical realizations of biomedical devices rely on the effective extrusion, deposition, and manipulation of cells and drug-carrying particles from liquid media in the desired location. The successful implementation of our project could have significant implications for biomedical technology, such as a new generation of smart ultrasound devices like syringes and catheters, as well as in bioprinting and tissue engineering.
Additional IPDR Projects
The following IPDR collaborations have been selected for 2024-25 funding by Huck Institutes’ sister interdisciplinary research institutes at Penn State:
The Materials Research Institute seed-funded one additional project, “Design and Programming of Magnetic Shape Memory Polymer for Additive Manufacturing,” with partnering MSI North Carolina A&T State University.
The Institute for Computational and Data Sciences seed-funded one additional project, “Food Bank Operations Optimization: Data-driven Societal Impact Approach (FOODSIA),” with partnering MSI North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT).
The Clinical and Translational Science Institute seed-fund one additional project, “Interdisciplinary Partnerships to Foster Health Equity in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV),” with MSI partner UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Regional Academic Health Center.