514 Computational Modeling of Structure-Function Relationships in Biological Systems

 

Biological systems have hierarchical organization with highly inhomogeneous structure at different scales. This complex hierarchical structure is formed during the development stage driven by various mechanobiological factors and characterized by spatial heterogeneity of composition, structure and mechanical properties: anisotropy, nonlinearity , rate-dependence, spatial grading, geometrical interlocking of phases, and spatial distribution of extracellular (ECM)-, cellular-, and sub-cellular features. Such complex structure results in highly specialized mechanical response of cells, tissue and organs, including increased stiffness and/or strength of the tissues, ability to dissipate or amplify stress, cell motility e.t.c.
In this minisymposium, we would like to invite researchers to discuss how the mechanobiological factors and structural features at different scales (from nano to macro) determine the development and functionality of biological cells, tissues, and organs. We hope that this discussion will advance the understanding of healing and regeneration in biological systems and engineering of complex tissues. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to constitutive models taking into account structural features, nonlinearity and rate dependence; image-based modeling incorporating extracellular-, cellular-, and sub-cellular features; virtual experiments on structural and property evolution in biological systems; and computational modeling of growth, remodeling, and degradation in biological systems.