The Myers Lab celebrates Shuyang Fang successfully defending his doctoral thesis. His research investigated the mechanical properties of the human uterus, nonhuman primate cervix, and fetal membrane-uterine wall adhesion. Great work Dr. Fang!

Adriana Delagarza, Madeline Skeel, and Gabriel Guerra Trigo presented their summer research at the Columbia Undergraduate Research Symposium. Great work, all!

The Myers Lab congratulates Nicole Lee on successfully defending her doctoral thesis. Her research investigated the mechanical role of extracellular matrix components in cervical remodeling. Way to go Dr. Lee!

We proposed a new material model that captures the tension–compression asymmetric material responses and the remodeling characteristics of both human and mouse cervical tissue. We present tension-compression mechanical data, nonpregnant vs pregnant comparisons, a full 3-D statistical mechanics model, links to raw data, and material model implementation in FEBio.

This article is written by Lei Shi.

Article – Acta Biomaterialia
Three-dimensional anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive model describing the mechanical response of human and mouse cervix

We enjoyed having Miccaella Lejwa in the lab this summer as a 2022 SURE Fellow! Her research focused on running computational simulations of maternal anatomy at low risk for preterm birth.

The members of the Myers lab have been on the move this year, attending conferences and working with collaborators. We’re so happy to see everyone in-person!

Congratulations to Myers Lab member Shuyang Fang for placing first in the SB3C 2021 ASME-BED Student Paper Competition (PhD level, Soft Tissue Biomechanics section). Great job Shuyang!

What is the mechanical role of small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) in the mouse cervix? In collaboration with the Mahendroo lab at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, we use mechanical testing and computational modeling to reveal decorin and biglycan’s impact on time-dependent and equilibrium properties of the nonpregnant and pregnant cervix.

This article is written by Nicole Lee in collaboration with Mala Mahendroo

Article – Journal for Biomechanical Engineering
Mechanical Response of Mouse Cervices Lacking Decorin and Biglycan During Pregnancy

What is the role of small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) in cervical remodeling during pregnancy? In collaboration with the Mahendroo lab at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the combination of imaging, immunohistochemistry, collagen crosslink analysis, and mechanical testing reveals an important regulatory role of SLRPs in the uterine cervix.

This article is written by Mariano Colon-Caraballo (from collaborator Mala Mahendroo’s lab), co-authored by Nicole Lee.

Article – Matrix Biology
Novel regulatory roles of small leucine-rich proteoglycans in remodeling of the uterine cervix in pregnancy

We loved having Jada Hinds, a 2021 SURE Fellow from Duke University, as an undergraduate researcher in our lab over the summer! You can watch her present her work on studying the effects of maternal anatomy parameters on cervical loading at the Columbia SURE website.