An expert team of University of Florida scientists, surgeons, engineers and mathematicians have worked together over the last 10 years to lay the foundation for a systems biology approach to further our understanding of vascular remodeling and vein bypass graft failure. Prior strategies have focused largely on linear models to separately describe the physical or biologic components of vascular disease progression.
In order to significantly advance our understanding of the function of such complex phenomena, it is necessary to integrate different types of data and use quantitative models to predict behavior and outcomes. Our multidisciplinary team approach uses both experimental data and computational models to understand these dynamic phenomena. Such information is vital for translation to effective clinical strategies to enhance revascularization durability. Through use of these cutting-edge technologies, we seek to examine the physical and biologic microenvironments via multi-scale mathematical modeling to predict dynamic stability or progression toward an occlusive phenotype following injury to the vascular system. We are currently focusing our efforts in the following areas:
- Understanding the impact of wall forces on focal vein graft lesion growth, and applying multi-time scale modeling to predict graft success or failure.
- Modeling the interplay of physical forces and the regulators of inflammatory cell homing as they drive vein graft scarring.
- Translating these fundamental principles to the more complex human disease process to understand clinical vein graft failure.