As a part of the IBEST distinguished lecture series, Jay Humphrey, Ph.D., gave a lecture over the effects of hypertension and aging on central artery structure and function on April 29, 2019.

Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases continue to be responsible for significant morbidity and mortality, and hypertension and natural aging are key risk factors for such conditions. Hypertension and aging induce changes in the microstructure, and hence biomechanical properties and function, of the aortic wall, which in turn adversely affect the hemodynamics, leading to heart disease, renal disease, and stroke, among other sequelae. In this talk, we will quantify, compare, and model biomechanical effects of hypertension and aging in order to gain increased insight into the hemodynamic consequences. In particular, we will examine the use of diverse mouse models that permit consistent biomechanical phenotyping, including detailed comparisons of arterial stiffening in hypertension and aging, including an ultra-rare genetic cause of highly accelerated aging – Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome.

Biography: J.D. Humphrey received the Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from The Georgia Institute of Technology and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Medicine – Cardiovascular at the Johns Hopkins University. He is currently John C. Malone Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. His primary technical expertise is in vascular mechanics and mechanobiology, with particular interests in vascular aging, hypertension, aneurysms, and tissue engineering. He authored a graduate textbook (Cardiovascular Solid Mechanics) and co-authored both an undergraduate textbook (An Introduction to Biomechanics) and a short handbook (Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and Engineering). He also co-edited a research text (Cardiovascular Soft Tissue Mechanics), published chapters in 30+ other books or encyclopedias, and published over 285 archival journal papers. He served for a decade as founding co-editor-in-chief for the international journal Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, which continues to have the highest impact factor in the field of biomechanics. He served for 12 years as a US representative to the World Council for Biomechanics and served previously as Chair of the US National Committee on Biomechanics. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and is an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.