Welcome to the Peirce-Cottler Laboratory
in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
at the University of Virginia

The Peirce-Cottler Laboratory is a biomedical engineering laboratory at UVa that studies microvascular growth and remodeling by combining experimental and computational systems bioengineering approaches in order to develop new therapies for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We seek to understand how the microcirculation adapts during health and disease through the processes of angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. We then use this knowledge to engineer adult stem cell treatments and identify new drug targets that stimulate microvascular growth and improve overall tissue function. Research areas include diabetes, ischemic disease (stroke, heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease), and obesity.

News from the Lab

Jessica Ungerleider, Tyler Brobst, and Alyssa Long (B.S. in BME expected 2013) received a highly competitive "Harrison Undergraduate Research Award" to support their research on pericyte differentiation in the retina. See the recent press release: Undergraduate Research Team wins Harrison Award

Under the mentorship of graduate students Scott Seaman and Joe Walpole (graduate students in the Peirce-Cottler lab) Charlotte and Emily Keeley (11th graders at Charlottesville High School) won 10 awards at the Charlottesville Science Fair and will be competing at the national and international science fair competitions this spring. Their project is entitled "Agent-based Modeling of Nanoparticles in Wounds." See the recent press release: Charlottesville Twin Sisters Score in Science