Edward Damiano, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Ph.D., Applied Mechanics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Washington University
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Bionic Pancreas Research
Curriculum Vitae
Phone: (617) 353-9493; Fax: (617) 358-2835
Email: edamiano@bu.edu
Office: ERB 701-B
Research Overview
Our lab is engaged in basic scientific research that combines mathematical modeling, computational analysis, and experimental investigations across length scales ranging from macromolecular assemblies, cellular mechanics, and microscale biofluidics to cardiovascular fluid mechanics and the biomechanics of vestibular sensory systems. Our microvascular research activities integrate fluid dynamics with intravital microscopy to study blood flow in the microcirculation and to elucidate mechanisms by which the lining of blood vessels determines vascular health and disease. In particular, we have been focusing on the glycocalyx, which forms a complex hydrated mesh of cell surface macromolecules that is situated at the interface between the luminal vascular wall and flowing blood. We have developed new analytical and experimental tools to interrogate the glycocalyx in vivo and in vitro. We have demonstrated that this layer of macromolecules retards plasma flow within ~500 nm from the vessel wall in healthy blood vessels, but is significantly degraded in the presence of vascular inflammation and chronic hyperglycemia. We have also shown that the observed hydrodynamic properties of the glycocalyx in vivo are substantially absent from endothelial cells cultured under standard conditions in vitro.
In addition to this research, we are also committed to creating and integrating closed-loop control technologies with a vision of building a bionic endocrine pancreas for automatically regulating blood glucose in diabetes. This initiative began with design and development work on mathematical algorithm strategies for blood-glucose control, which we began testing over five years ago in a swine model of type 1 diabetes. Working closely with the FDA, we conducted all necessary animal experiments and performed all required software and hardware validation studies to fully qualify our system for clinical testing. Our first-generation device became the first academically sponsored investigational device exemption (IDE) ever to receive FDA approval for human testing. Our first-phase clinical trial testing this device in 24-hour experiments in adult subjects with type 1 diabetes was conducted in the Clinical Research Center (CRC) at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and was completed in 2009. We received IDE approval from the FDA to test our second-generation fully automated device in 48-hour experiments in a second-phase clinical trial, which began in July 2010 in the MGH CRC in children and adults with type 1 diabetes, and will conclude in November 2012. We have recently built our system to run on a mobile-device platform, which integrates an iPhone with our blood-glucose control algorithm, an insulin pump, and a continuous glucose monitor. We plan to begin running five-day experiments testing this platform in the out-patient setting by the end of 2012.
Current Research
Near-Wall Microfluidics and the Glycocalyx in Venules
Microviscometric Analysis in Venules using μ-PIV
The Hydrodynamically Relevant Glycocalyx in vivo and in vitro
The Recovery Time Course of the Glycocalyx in vivo
Selected Publications
Russell, S. J., El-Khatib, F. H., Nathan, D. M., Magyar, K. L., Jiang, J., Damiano, E. R. “ Blood glucose control in type 1 diabetes with a bihormonal bionic endocrine pancreas” Diabetes Care 33: 2148-2155 (2012)
El-Khatib, F. H., Russell, S. J., Nathan, D. M., Sutherlin, R. G., Damiano, E. R. “Blood glucose control in type 1 diabetes with a bihormonal bionic endocrine pancreas” Sci. Transl. Med. 2: 27ra27 (2010)
Potter, D. R., Jiang, J., Damiano, E. R. “The recovery time course of the endothelial cell glycocalyx in vivo and its implications in vitro” Circ. Res. 104: 1318-1325 (2009)
Potter, D. R., Damiano, E. R. “The hydrodynamically relevant endothelial glycocalyx observed in vivo is absent in vitro” Circ. Res. 102: 770-776 (2008)
Savery, M. D., Damiano, E. R. “The endothelial glycocalyx is hydrodynamically relevant in arterioles throughout the cardiac cycle” Biophys. J. 95: 1439-1447 (2008)
Roy, B. C., Damiano, E. R. “On the motion of a porous sphere in a Stokes flow parallel to a planar confining boundary” J. Fluid Mech. 606: 75-104 (2008)
Damiano, E. R., Long, D. S., El-Khatib, F. H., Stace, T. M. “On the motion of a sphere in a Stokes flow parallel to a Brinkman half space” J. Fluid Mech. 500: 75-101 (2004)
Damiano, E. R., Long, D. S., Smith, M. L. “Estimation of viscosity profiles using velocimetry data from parallel flows of linearly viscous fluids: Application to microvascular hemodynamics” J. Fluid Mech. 512: 1-19 (2004)
Long, D. S., Smith, M. L., Pries, A. R., Ley, K., Damiano, E. R. “Microviscometry reveals reduced blood viscosity and altered shear rate and shear stress profiles in microvessels after hemodilution” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 10060-10065 (2004)
Smith, M. L., Long, D. S., Damiano, E. R., Ley, K. “Near-wall micro-PIV reveals a hydrodynamically relevant endothelial surface layer in venules in vivo” Biophys. J. 85: 637-645 (2003)
Damiano, E. R., Stace, T. M. “A mechano-electrochemical model of radial deformation of the capillary glycocalyx” Biophys. J. 82: 1153-1175 (2002)
Stace, T. M., Damiano, E. R. “An electrochemical model of the transport of charged molecules through the capillary glycocalyx” Biophys. J. 80: 1670-1690 (2001)
