Edward Damiano PhD, MS

Edward Damiano’s lab has been engaged in basic scientific research that combines mathematical modeling, computational analysis, and experimental investigations across length scales ranging from macromolecular assemblies, cellular mechanics, and microscale biofluids to cardiovascular fluid mechanics and the biomechanics of vestibular sensory systems. The lab’s previous work in microvascular research integrated fluid dynamics with intravital microscopy to study blood flow in the microcirculation and to elucidate mechanisms by which the lining of blood vessels determines vascular health and disease.

In past research, the focus was on the glycocalyx, which forms a complex hydrated mesh of cell surface macromolecules that is situated at the interface between the luminal vascular wall and flowing blood. We developed new analytical and experimental tools to interrogate the glycocalyx in vivo and in vitro. We demonstrated that this layer of macromolecules retards plasma flow within 500 nm from the vessel wall in healthy blood vessels, but is significantly degraded in the presence of vascular inflammation and chronic hyperglycemia. We also showed that the observed hydrodynamic properties of the glycocalyx in vivo are substantially absent from endothelial cells cultured under standard conditions in vitro.