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

定量模型在改善医疗结果的尝试中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研究，使临床管理和治疗发生了革命性变化，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疾病。遗传因素被认为是先天性脑积水发展的基础;相反，后天性脑积水发生在大脑发育之后，可能是由于许多原因（如创伤，出血，感染，肿瘤）。虽然婴儿脑积水是最常见的出生缺陷之一，但经过半个世纪的研究，治疗进展甚微。开发一个精确的，定量的模型，适合于模拟脑组织的力学行为，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性肿瘤治疗反应的主要因素也是一个长期感兴趣和相关的问题，特别是在临床肿瘤学中。虽然传统的治疗方法在癌症的管理和控制方面取得了重大进展，但仍有进一步改进的空间。显然，需要新的方法来了解这些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和最复杂的行为之一。我的研究计划是集中在一个全面的定量模型的发展，再加上实验知情的计算机模拟，预测生物组织在不同的负载情况下的反应，例如，经常遇到的神经外科医生。数学建模，精心设计的实验和新工程技术的使用的精心耦合将导致对引起这些长期存在的医疗条件和疾病的潜在机制的更深入的理解。

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.