Mechanobiology of chronic disease
Chair:
Adele Doyle, University of California Santa Barbara
Summary:
Six in ten adults in the U.S. have a chronic disease (CDC, 2018). Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s and diabetes are the primary causes of death. The years of debilitating disease progression prior to death that are associated with these chronic conditions drive annual health care costs into the trillions of dollars and radically alter the quality of life for both patients and caregivers. To improve prediction and treatment of chronic diseases, the focus of this session will be to define how multi-scale biomechanics and mechanobiology affect the disease state and/or molecular mechanisms of disease. We will highlight recent progress in the application of biomechanics and mechanobiology to help improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of chronic diseases.