May 8, 2008

4-6 PM

Cannon Room, HMS Quad

 

 

Speaker:                                 Jeffrey Fredberg, PhD

 

Title:                                        “Frozen objects: small airways, big breaths, and asthma.”

 

Question:                                 How does stretch influence sub-cellular mechanical properties?

 

Quantitative Method:              Molecular-scale experimental probes of cytoskeletal deformability, contractility, and remodeling.

 

Medical Impact:                      During the asthmatic attack, airway smooth muscle undergoes a phase transition and becomes frozen in a stiff glassy state.

 

Suggested Reading:               Trepat X., et al.  Universal physical responses to stretch in the living cell.  Nature (2007) May 31;447(7144):592-5.

                                                Fredberg, JJ.  Frozen objects: small airways, big breaths and asthma.  J. of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2000), 106, 615-24.

 

Speaker URL:                         http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/jeffrey-fredberg/.