Biomechanics of Soft Tissues and the Quantitative Modelling of Some Problems in the Biomedical Sciences.

定量模型在试图改善医疗结果方面发挥着越来越重要的作用，并迅速成为未来生物医学发现不可或缺的工具。新的研究范式和计算机模拟的发展促进了转化性研究，使临床管理和治疗发生了革命性的变化，从而降低了死亡率和医疗成本。脑积水是一种由发育异常或损伤引起的临床症状。遗传因素被认为是先天性脑积水发展的基础；相反，获得性脑积水发生在大脑发育之后，可能由许多原因引起(如创伤、出血、感染、肿瘤)。尽管婴儿脑积水是最常见的出生缺陷之一，但半个世纪的研究在治疗方面几乎没有改进。发展一种准确的、定量的、适合于模拟脑组织力学行为的模型，将是临床神经科学的一个重要里程碑。确定影响脑肿瘤和其他癌症治疗反应的主要因素也是一个长期关注和相关的问题，特别是在临床肿瘤学中。虽然常规治疗在癌症管理和控制方面取得了重大进展，但仍有显著的进一步改进的空间，显然需要新的方法来了解这种致命疾病的原因和治疗潜力。生物组织的生物力学行为是建模要求最高、最复杂的问题之一。我的研究计划专注于开发一个全面的定量模型，加上经过实验获得信息的计算机模拟，以预测生物组织在非常不同的负荷情况下的反应，例如神经外科医生经常遇到的情况。数学建模、精心设计的实验和新的工程技术的使用的仔细结合将导致对导致这些长期存在的医疗状况和疾病的潜在机制的更深层次的理解。

Quantitative models are playing an increasingly central role in attempts to improve medical outcomes and are rapidly becoming an indispensable tool for biomedical discoveries of the future. New research paradigms and the development of computer simulations have contributed to translational research that has revolutionized clinical management and treatment, resulting in decreased mortality and healthcare costs. Hydrocephalus is a clinical condition resulting from either developmental abnormalities or injuries. Genetic factors are believed to underly the development of congenital hydrocephalus; in contrast, acquired hydrocephalus occurs after development of the brain and may be due to many causes (such as trauma, hemorrhage, infection, tumors). Although infantile hydrocephalus is one of the most common birth defects, half a century of research has produced little improvement in treatment. The development of an accurate, quantitative model , suitable for the simulation of the mechanical behaviour of brain tissue, will be an important milestone in the clinical neurosciences . The identification of major factors that influence treatment response in brain tumours and other cancerous tumours has also been a problem of longstanding interest and relevance, particularly in clinical oncology. Whilst conventional treatments have contributed to major advances in the management and control of cancer, there is room for significant further improvement Clearly fresh approaches are needed to understand the causes and therapeutic potential of such deadly diseases. The biomechanical behaviour of biological tissues is one of the most demanding and complicated to model. My research program is focussed on the development of a comprehensive quantitative model, coupled with experimentally informed computer simulations, to predict the response of biological tissues in vastly different loading situations as, for example, regularly encountered by the neurosurgeon. The careful coupling of mathematical modeling, well designed experiments and the use of novel engineering technologies will result in a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms that give rise to these long standing medical conditions and diseases.