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Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
B.S.E., Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1992
B.S.Econ., The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1992
Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, 1996
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 800759
Charlottesville, VA 22908
helmke@virginia.edu
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Research Interests
Living cells and tissues adapt to their environment by altering
structure, gene and protein expression, and biochemical functions. For
example, endothelial cells lining the artery wall at the blood tissue
interface experience fluid mechanical forces that vary with time and
location along the artery. However, the mechanisms by which cells
transduce mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals are not well
understood. Our laboratory employs a multidisciplinary biomedical
engineering approach to understand the relationship between
intracellular mechanics and cell function.
Several tools are
used for investigating cellular mechanotransduction. Expression of
green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to cytoskeletal or other
proteins makes it possible to visualize endogenous intracellular
structures, and fluorescence probes enable detection of intracellular
signaling molecules such as nitric oxide. High-resolution optical
sectioning microscopy, deconvolution, and 3-D image restoration
provide quantitative spatial and temporal information. Quantitative
image analysis tools analyze intracellular movement, molecular
interactions, and biochemical response. Nanotechnology-based
structures control mechanical stimuli at the length scale of
individual protein structures near the cell surface. Engineering
nanoscale spatial cues into the cell’s local environment will
enable rational design of cell phenotype for regenerative medicine and
tissue engineering. Thus, projects in our laboratory bring together a
joint biomedical engineering, materials science, and molecular biology
approach to understanding cellular physiology.
Selected Publications
Helmke, B.P., A.B. Rosen, and P.F. Davies. Mapping mechanical strain
of an endogenous cytoskeletal network in living endothelial cells.
Biophys. J. 84: 2691-2699, 2003.
Helmke, B. P., and P. F. Davies. The cytoskeleton under external fluid
mechanical forces: hemodynamic forces acting on the endothelium.
Ann. Biomed. Eng. 30:284-296, 2002.
Helmke, B. P., D. B. Thakker, R. D. Goldman, and P. F. Davies. Spatiotemporal
analysis of flow-induced intermediate filament displacement in living endothelial
cells. Biophys. J. 80: 184-194, 2001.
Helmke, B. P., R. D. Goldman, and P. F. Davies. Rapid displacement of vimentin
intermediate filaments in living endothelial cells exposed to flow. Circ. Res.
86: 745-752, 2000.
PubMed listings for this faculty member
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