The Myers Soft Tissue Lab is a part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at Columbia University. Our lab is located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus (450D&E Lasker Biomedical Research Building). We study the material behavior of biological soft tissues with a specific focus on the female reproductive system. Our driving clinical motivation is to uncover the structural antecedents of preterm birth, a major long-lasting public health problem with heavy emotional and financial consequences.
Our team utilizes experimental, theoretical, and computational mechanics to calculate and study the loading environment of pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Working with our clinical collaborators in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), our engineering group is building a fast, flexible and validated computational mechanics framework to clinically diagnose and treat mechanical failure in pregnancy. Our guiding research vision is through the application of mechanistic modeling, grounded and validated with experimental evidence, we can predict pregnancy outcomes given non-invasive, patient-specific metrics assessed early in gestation. With an early and precise diagnosis we hope to advise methods to truly restore the mechanical integrity of the pregnant abdomen.
Please see our Research Page for more information on our projects.
kristinmyerscolumbia.com 