AMGEN-SUPPORTED FELLOWSHIP PROJECT - 2009

PhD Fellow: Sanaz Saatchi (Bioengineering)
Faculty Advisors: Charles Taylor (Bioengineering) and Paul Yock (Bioengineering)

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are a life-threatening degenerative disease in which the structural organization and integrity of the blood vessel wall is lost, resulting in vessel dilation and possible rupture. Sanaz’s work, with Professors Charles Taylor and Paul Yock, has enabled the application of a novel, high resolution, three-dimensional imaging technology, Immunofluorescent Array Tomography, to blood vessels for the first time. Her studies qualitatively and quantitatively characterized both the spatial and temporal remodeling of the microarchitecture and cellular response to aneurysm development. These studies provide a new perspective into aneurysm pathology and may help the development of preventative therapies.