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Biomechanics and Mechanobiology

Researchers from the Evolutionary Biomechanics lab with an omni-directional treadmill, designed and built by Hendrik Beck with contributions by Xinyang Wang, Fabian Plum, and Dr David Labonte. The treadmill studies untethered, continuous locomotion across a broad range of arthropod species.

An image from Dr Joseph van Baterburg-Sherwood's lab showing a model blood vessel engineering to study blood flow in diabetes, where red blood cells become stiffer.

Dr Magdalene Ho, a Research Associate in Dr Ben Almquist's lab group, is the founder of Aptabone, a bioinspired startup that specialises in wound-healing DNA nanotechnology.

A drop weight impact testing machine in the Injury and Reconstruction Biomechanics Test Suite, being used by Dr Thuy-Tien Nguyen, supervised by Professor Spyros Masouros, to investigate the response against dynamic loadings of a floor mat structure to reduce under-body blast injuries

Mechanical forces shape the form and function of biological systems and regulate biological processes across all levels and scales. The motion of joints, contraction of cells, and even the conformation of proteins are all governed by mechanical principles, which together define biological function in health and disease.

Researchers in the Department of Bioengineering seek to understand the role of mechanics in biology by combining the latest tools in engineering and life sciences. With specific interests in evolutionary processes, plant and insect biology, engineered tissue, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, orthopaedic, ophthalmic and respiratory systems, our researchers apply experimental, computational and theoretical approaches to understand how mechanical forces impact biological function at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ and organism levels.