Pregnancy stands at the intersection of mechanics and biology. The growing fetus continuously loads the maternal organs as circulating hormones surge and fluctuate. In response to these dynamic mechanical and biological cues, maternal soft tissues grow and remodel to support a safe pregnancy. As examples, the uterine cavity volume increases 1000 times while preventing premature contractions, while the maternal heart grows by 30% in mass and volume to pump 50% more blood over nine months of pregnancy. After delivery, these changes reverse in preparation for the next pregnancy. Although hormones and mechanical loading are key triggers of soft tissue growth and remodeling, the interactions between these cues remain poorly understood.
Kyoko Yoshida,
University of Minnesota
To address this gap, my lab employs computational and experimental approaches to investigate how these mechanical and biological cues evolve and interact to influence pregnancy-induced soft tissue growth, remodeling, and mechanical function.
In this talk, I will present our work on the maternal cardiovascular system and uterus. Ultimately, we aim to use these models as clinical tools for early detection and development of patient-specific therapies for pregnancy-related complications, as well as a holistic framework to understand the mechanobiological changes underlying pregnancy.
Dr. Kyoko Yoshida, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She previously conducted her postdoctoral training at the University of Virginia. She obtained her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Her research on soft tissue growth and remodeling biomechanics of the cardiovascular and reproductive soft tissues during pregnancy is supported by the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the American Heart Association Career Development Award.