BRIGE: Characterizing the Time-Dependent and Anisotropic Mechanical Properties of the Uterine Cervix with Micro and Nano Indentation

这一扩大参与研究启动助学金(Brige)奖为研究人类颈部组织的机械特性提供了资金，并提供了提高工程科学对女学生可见度的机会。这项研究的目标是量化宫颈结构和材料性能的关系，以确定怀孕期间宫颈组织重塑和力学性能是如何相互影响的。颈椎细胞外基质(ECM)负责维持组织的机械完整性和调节细胞活动。胶原网络的结构和胶原纤维与其周围环境的相互作用决定了组织的非线性、时间依赖性和各向异性的材料行为。本研究旨在开发一种微纳压痕技术来解释颈部组织的各向异性和随时间变化的力学行为，并开发有限元分析工具来研究压痕过程中的应力和应变行为。这一测试框架将指导开发适当的本构模型，以产生描述性的材料特性，并将有助于未来对通过疾病、基因操作和生化改变而改变的宫颈组织的研究。宫颈是一个机械屏障，在怀孕期间将胎儿保留在子宫内。妊娠期间宫颈的机械完整性和组织重塑事件的准确时间对于胎儿的健康怀孕至关重要。这项由这笔赠款资助的研究旨在表征人类宫颈组织的力学行为，并量化结缔组织的变化可能如何影响宫颈材料的特性。目标是开发适当的实验和分析方法来解释组织的复杂性质。PI实验室的研究致力于通过科学研究促进女性健康，通过这些努力，PI进一步旨在通过高中、本科和研究生水平的努力，吸引和招募女性学生进入工程学领域。

This Broadening Participation Research Initiation Grant in Engineering (BRIGE) award provides funding for the investigation of the mechanical properties of human cervical tissue and provides opportunities to raise the visibility of engineering science to female students. The research goal is to quantify cervical structure and material property relationships to determine how cervical tissue remodeling and mechanical properties influence each other during pregnancy. The cervical extracellular matrix (ECM) is responsible for maintaining tissue mechanical integrity and for regulating cell activity. The architecture of the collagen network and the interaction of the collagen fibers with its surroundings dictate the non-linear, time-dependent, and anisotropic material behavior of the tissue. This research aims to develop a micro and nanoindentation technique to account for the anisotropic and time-dependent mechanical behavior of cervical tissue and to develop finite element analysis tools to explore stress and strain behavior during indentation. This testing framework will guide the development of an appropriate constitutive model to generate descriptive material properties and will benefit future investigations of cervical tissue altered through disease, genetic manipulation, and biochemical alteration.The cervix is a mechanical barrier, retaining the fetus inside the uterus during pregnancy. The mechanical integrity of the cervix and the precise timing of tissue remodeling events during pregnancy are critical for a healthy gestation of the fetus. The research funded by this grant aims to characterize the mechanical behavior of human cervical tissue and to quantify how connective tissue alterations may influence cervical material properties. The goal is to develop appropriate experimental and analytical methodologies to account for the complex nature of the tissue. The research conducted in the PI's lab is dedicated to the advancement of women's health through scientific research, and through these efforts the PI further aims to attract and recruit female students to the engineering field through efforts at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate level.