Samir Ghadiali, the Frank Hook Assistant Professor of bioengineering in the department of mechanical engineering and mechanics, says the interaction between his research group and that of physics professor Daniel Ou-Yang is a model of “win-win collaboration” between science and engineering pursuits.
“My lab explores the mechanisms of cell injury,” explains Ghadiali, “and we rely heavily on Daniel’s optical techniques to understand cells’ mechanical properties and to accurately measure the effects of the manipulations we perform on those cells. It’s kind of a classic collaborative story – Daniel’s group is one of a handful around the world that specializes in the physics of the optical-tweezer method itself, and we focus on using the method to solve a specific biomechanical engineering problem.
“From our perspective, the optical tweezer technique is exciting because it allows for the measurement of the mechanical properties of particles inside a cell – without perturbing the cell’s membrane.” Recent Lehigh research has indicated that the accuracy of measurement based upon methods that require physical probing of cells could be diminished by altering the characteristics of the membrane itself.
According to Ghadiali, there is a “positive spiral” at work within this collaboration. Several of Ghadiali’s students are using their expertise in computational systems modeling to help Ou-Yang’s research team understand the effectiveness of optical-tweezers under various conditions. In this way, Ghadiali believes his engineering team is both leveraging and contributing to Ou-Yang’s research success.
“I think our students from both sides certainly benefit from such close collaboration,” he says. “The engineering students acquire a much deeper knowledge of how these measurements are gauged and also of some of the intricacies of the technique itself. I think the physics students benefit from seeing their work applied in a biomedical context, and from exposure to the tools and techniques engineers use in their approach to problem-solving.”
