MechE Spring Seminar Series: Chiara Bellini

Speaker: Chiara Bellini

Title: Aging Under Pressure: Vascular Mechanobiology at the Interface of Time and Environmental Stressors

Abstract: Cardiovascular aging reflects progressive endothelial dysfunction and vascular stiffening driven by oxidative stress, inflammation, and extracellular matrix remodeling. My lab investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying these mechanobiological processes and how environmental stressors accelerate vascular aging. In this seminar, I will present findings from our work mapping aortic aging in mice. Using single-cell transcriptomics and mechanical testing, we identified immune cell accumulation, matrix remodeling, and altered Piezo-1 signaling as key contributors to age-related aortic stiffness. I will then discuss how chronic wildfire smoke exposure recapitulates age-associated vascular dysfunction. Through a mouse model scaled to wildland firefighter exposures, we demonstrated that repeated inhalation of Douglas Fir smoke induces inflammation, oxidative and nitrosative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and fibrotic remodeling, resulting in vascular stiffening and elevated blood pressure. These studies frame vascular aging as a lens for understanding cardiovascular consequences of environmental exposures and highlight pathways for future prevention and intervention strategies.

About the Speaker: Dr. Chiara Bellini is Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University and Associate Chair for Research and PhD Education. Her research integrates experimental and computational biomechanics, vascular biology, and molecular analysis to investigate the mechanisms that drive cardiovascular aging and disease. She examines how environmental stressors affect vascular function through inflammation, oxidative stress, and mechanotransduction pathways. Her work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and private foundations.