The next Chemical and Biological Engineering Spring 2022 Seminar will feature Ashlee N. Ford Versypt, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at University at Buffalo, on March 30 from 3:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Seminar title: “Systems Biomedicine & Pharmaceutics: Multiscale Modeling of Tissues, Treatments, & Toxicology”
When: March 30, 2022, 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Where: Online via Zoom
https://iit-edu.zoom.us/j/86568732274?pwd=QVF1QjY3TWVWcmZhNG13VEdZNFZIdz09
Meeting ID: 865 6873 2274
Passcode: 964124

Biography

Dr. Ford Versypt earned a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, all in Chemical Engineering. She did her postdoc at MIT. She started her academic career at Oklahoma State University before joining the University at Buffalo as a tenured associate professor in January 2021. Dr. Ford Versypt leads the Systems Biomedicine and Pharmaceutics Laboratory. She has received a number of awards for her research, teaching, and service including the NSF CAREER Award, ASEE Chemical Engineering Division Fahien Award, and AIChE 35 Under 35. Her research program is funded by the NSF and NIH R35 MIRA.

Abstract

Dr. Ford Versypt leads the Systems Biomedicine and Pharmaceutics research lab, which develops and uses multiscale systems engineering approaches including mathematical modeling and computational simulation to enhance understanding of the mechanisms governing tissue remodeling and damage as a result of diseases and infections and to simulate the treatment of those conditions to improve human health. The lab specializes in (a) modeling mass transport of biochemicals through heterogeneous porous materials—primarily extracellular matrices—that change morphology dynamically due to the influence of chemical reactions and (b) modeling dynamic, multi-species biological systems involving chemical, physical, and biological interactions of diverse, heterogeneous cell populations with these materials and the chemical species in tissue microenvironments. In this seminar, vignettes of three lines of research will be highlighted including (1) glucose-stimulated damage to kidney cells during diabetes, (2) viral and immune-induced damage in SARS-CoV-2 infected lung tissue, and (3) bone restoration via dietary supplementation of short chain fatty acids. The work is currently supported by an NSF CAREER award and NIH R35 MIRA and R15 grants.