Delphine Dean, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering
S.B. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2001,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
M.Eng. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2001, MIT
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005, MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)M.Eng. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2001, MIT
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005, MIT
Research Interests
Biological Nanomechanics
Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions
Computational Modeling
Bioinformatics
Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions
Computational Modeling
Bioinformatics
Email:
Office: 201-1 Rhodes Research Center
Phone: 864.656.2611
Office: 201-1 Rhodes Research Center
Phone: 864.656.2611
Honors, Awards, and Professional Activities
Biomedical Research Society (BMES) Poster Award, Oct. 2006Materials Research Society (MRS) Graduate Student Gold Award Winner,
Dec. 2004Whitaker Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2002-2004 MIT Bioengineering Undergraduate Research Award, May 1999Current Research
Cardiac and Stem Cell Mechanics
We are investigating the mechanical properties of cardiac cells and
differentiating stem cells separately and in co-culture and on different
matrices using a combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and modeling
techniques. The goal of this research is to determine when
differentiating stem cells match the mechanical properties of the native
cardiac cells, what factors are most important for the changes in
mechanical properties and what signals affect the time course of
differentiations.
Cell Mechanics Modeling
The Hertz model, commonly used in literature to describe cell
indentation data, is a simple analytical elastic isotropic theoretical
model that can be used to extract quantitative measures of cell stiffness
from AFM nanoindentation. However, this model does not capture the complex
and dynamic mechanical behavior of most cells that are important for cell
function. By correlating the levels of the cytoskeletal proteins to the
measured mechanical response of different cell types, we can determine
which proteins are most important in cell stiffness. Therefore, concurrent
with the cell indentation experiments described above, we are developing
theoretical models of cardiac and stem cell mechanics. These models will
allow us to build a micro- to macro-scale model of cardiac tissue with
varying amounts of each cell type.
Cell-Cell Interactions
Cell-cell interactions that form between cardiac cells over time are being
directly characterized. The goal of this project is to understand how
cellular adherence
junctions form and how they change between the different
cell types important for cardiac function and repair. Using AFM techniques,
we can observe the formation of intercellular adherence junctions in
real time.
Recent Publications
Han, L., Dean, D., Ortiz, C., Grodzinsky, A. J., "Lateral Nanomechanics of Cartilage Aggrecan Macromolecules", in press Biophysical Journal 2006
Pirlo, R. K., Dean, D., Knapp, D. R., Gao, B. Z., "Cell Deposition System Based on Laser Guidance", Biotechnology Journal 1(9):1007-1013 (2006)
Dean, D., Han, L., Grodzinsky, A. J., and Ortiz, C., "Compressive Nanomechanics of Opposing Aggrecan Macromolecules," Journal of Biomechanics 39(14):2555-2565 (2006)
Vandiver, J., Dean, D., Patel, N., Botelho, C., Best, S., Santos, J., Lopes, M., Bonfield, W., and Ortiz, C., "Silicon addition to hydroxyapatite increases nanoscale electrostatic, van der Waals, and adhesive interactions," Journal of Biomedical Materials Research 78A(2):352-363 (2006)
Dean, D., Han, L., Ortiz, C., and Grodzinsky, A. J., "Nanoscale Conformation and Compressibility of Cartilage Aggrecan using Microcontact Printing and Atomic Force Microscopy," Macromolecules 38(10); 4047-4049 (2005)
