Events Calendar

AME Seminar

Speaker: Ashlee N. Ford Versypt, Oklahoma State University

Talk Title: Systems Biomedicine and Pharmaceutics: Multiscale Modeling of Tissue Remodeling and Damage

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) metastatic cancer spread, and (3) viral-damage and immune-induced damage in SARS-CoV-2 infected lung tissue. The work is currently supported by an NSF CAREER award and an NIH R35 MIRA grant.

Biography: Ashlee N. Ford Versypt leads the Systems Biomedicine and Pharmaceutics Laboratory. The long-term goal for her research program is to develop multiscale mathematical and computational models 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 Systems Biomedicine and Pharmaceutics Laboratory specializes in modeling kinetics and transport processes involved in biological and chemical interactions related to both physiological microenvironments and engineered biomedical and pharmaceutical systems, particularly those involved in tissue damage and treatment. Her research program is funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, Dr. Ford Versypt also disseminates educational scholarship through publications, presentations, and software related to chemical engineering instruction, computational activities, student development, and outreach.

While earning her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Ford Versypt was awarded the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2013, Dr. Ford Versypt was recognized as the Frederick A. Howes Scholar in Computational Science, which is awarded annually to a recent alumnus of the DOE CSGF for outstanding leadership, character, and technical achievement. In 2012-2014, Dr. Ford Versypt was a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Ford Versypt is presently a Tenured Associate Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at Oklahoma State University (OSU) where she has been faculty since 2014. She will relocate to the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York in January 2021.

Dr. Ford Versypt has received a number of awards for her research, teaching, and service including the NSF CAREER Award, ASEE Chemical Engineering Ray W. Fahien Award, ASEE Midwest Section Outstanding Service Award, AIChE 35 Under 35, OSU Outstanding Achievement for the Mentorship of Women, OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Excellent Teacher Award, and Joseph J. Martin Award for best paper in the ChE Division at the 2014 ASEE Annual Meeting. She is the 2020-2021 Chair of the ASEE Chemical Engineering Division.

Host: AME Department

More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94175981194

Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94175981194

Location: Online event

WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94175981194

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Tessa Yao

Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94175981194