UL’s Dr John Mulvihill talks about mobile mechanobiology, the moms of the meninges and the way his analysis would possibly assist predict restoration after head accidents.
Dr John Mulvihill is an affiliate professor in biomedical engineering on the College of Limerick (UL), the place he specialises in tender organic tissue biomechanics and mobile mechanobiology.
Mulvihill wears many hats at UL. In addition to being the course director of the bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in biomedical engineering, he’s additionally chair of UL’s Analysis Ethics Governance Committee – a job he was appointed to in June of this 12 months.
The previous Marie Curie Fellow can be the present convention chair for Royal Academy of Drugs Eire BioEngineering in Eire 2026.
Regardless of the big selection of tasks, Mulvihill additionally finds time to conduct pioneering analysis into organic tissue behaviours – together with his present endeavours regarding the results of mind circumstances reminiscent of Alzheimer’s and traumatic mind damage.
Right here, Mulvihill talks to SiliconRepublic.com in regards to the realities and surprises of his analysis.
Are you able to inform me a bit about your present analysis?
My analysis revolves round characterising how organic tissue behaves underneath mechanical loading, what the tissue consists of, and the way the tissue responds to circumstances that mimic illness or damage reminiscent of Alzheimer’s illness or concussion.
I’ve utilized these analysis methodologies to cardiovascular (veins and arteries), digestive (abdomen, and gastrointestinal) and urological (urethra) tissue, however my present analysis focuses on understanding extra in regards to the meninges and addressing the gaps in our information of this tissue and its position.
What are the meninges? Not many have heard of this tissue, however most of us have heard of meningitis, which is the irritation of the meninges. It’s uncommon that we all know extra in regards to the illness quite than the tissue it impacts!
The meninges is a set of tissues that encapsulate (adjoining to) the mind and are recognized to be a mechanically protecting tissue of the mind.
Our lack of know-how might be attributed to the historic scientific assumption that the meninges was only a mechanically protecting, virtually inert, tissue that performed no different position. That’s what drew me to analysis these tissues because it fascinated me that we knew so little a couple of tissue that was so near one of the necessary organs in our physique.
Nonetheless, even since I started working with this tissue in 2017, our information has expanded, and it’s recognized to play an immunological and inflammatory position in our central nervous system performing like an alarm response system for any potential acute damage – it’s thrilling to play a small position on this development of information.
Why is your analysis necessary?
I’ve contributed considerably to the present state-of-the-art within the characterisation of human meningeal tissue. I used to be the primary to mechanically and structurally characterise the key tissue elements of the human falx cerebri and sagittal sinus in addition to the regional properties of the meninges tissue.
That is all based mostly on my intensive expertise within the mechanical characterisation of sentimental organic tissue from cardiovascular, urological and digestive tissues.
My work on the meninges established the mechanically homogeneous behaviour of the meninges at a macroscale. I found that, whereas the meninges behave uniformly at a big scale, their microscopic construction varies, which impacts how cells sense and reply to mechanical modifications.
Extra just lately, I’ve established the mechanosensitive nature of the cells of the meninges to each alterations in fluid circulation and mechanical stiffness, demonstrating that these meninges can sense change in mechanics. In the end, I’m working towards making a lab-on-a-chip platform of the meninges to look at its position in well being and diseased circumstances reminiscent of Alzheimer’s illness and concussion (a gentle type of traumatic mind damage).
What’s mobile mechanobiology and the way can it’s utilised in relation to traumatic mind damage?
Mobile mechanobiology is the examine of how cells reply to forces (or mechanics), and traumatic mind damage is an excessive instance of mechanobiology as it’s a massive ‘power’ being utilized to a cell.
By finding out cells which are positioned underneath these mimetic forces we are able to decide if the cell can survive, and if that’s the case, can the cell return to its regular behaviour or features previous to the power, mimicking that of the real-life state of affairs however at a mobile degree.
Utilizing mobile mechanobiology, we are able to decide if the cells can specific or secrete a selected ‘biomarker’ (or sign) that assist us predict if, or when, that cell returns again to regular.
Why is that this necessary? Consider it like a stress check for cells – after they’re pushed or stretched, they ship out alerts. If we are able to establish these alerts, we might predict restoration after accidents like concussion.
If such a biomarker is secreted at a scientific degree, then we might doubtlessly use it as an indicator of when knowledgeable athlete can return to play after a concussion. By measuring such biomarkers in our blood or saliva we might use it as a prognostic instrument for concussion. Such strategies will not be distinctive to TBI and can be utilized for any cell that undergoes a power.
‘Analysis ethics isn’t a barrier, it’s a basis for good science’
What has been essentially the most shocking/thrilling developments or discoveries in your analysis?
The meninges are made up of three layers; the dura mater, arachnoid mater and pia mater. These names roughly translate from Latin to be ‘powerful mom’, ‘spider mom’, and ‘tender mom’, respectively. These phrases date again to the twelfth century, and my work unsurprisingly verified the phrases attributed to those layers all these years in the past. The pia mater is the layer closest to the mind and from my work was discovered to be essentially the most mechanically tender of the layers. The dura mater, closest to the cranium, is far stiffer than the pia mater close to the mind, virtually like evaluating leather-based to silk.
Earlier to my work, there was no easy in vitro mobile fashions of the meninges and particularly the way it interacts with the mind. Now that I’ve a longtime in vitro mannequin of the meninges, we are able to ask attention-grabbing questions or apply circumstances that mimic illnesses and accidents reminiscent of Alzheimer’s illness and concussion.
Our work established that the meninges is not only a protecting tissue for the mind however can act as an alarm response for acute damage (reminiscent of concussion) and might assist in how the mind can get well from such accidents by selling the inflammatory response.
What are some frequent misconceptions about your work?
Whenever you consider a concussion and the way the mind could transfer throughout a concussive influence, you in all probability visualise the mind shifting like jelly within the cranium backwards and forwards.
Nonetheless, this isn’t the case because the meninges prevents this motion in a number of methods. First, the meninges accommodates a fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) which makes the mind buoyant and secondly, the meninges tethers the mind to the cranium at a number of factors.
As an alternative of bouncing round freely, the mind is cushioned by fluid and anchored by the meninges, which act like security straps. This highlights the significance of meninges in finishing up one among its main features within the physique.
As chair of UL’s Analysis Ethics Governance Committee, what are some necessary issues relating to moral analysis?
Analysis ethics isn’t a barrier, it’s a basis for good science. When constructed into analysis from the beginning, it strengthens the work quite than slowing it down. So long as you interact with moral ideas through the idea of a scientific concept then it’s going to by no means be a hindrance as soon as built-in into your experimental design.
At UL, our Analysis Ethics Committees are open to partaking with all researchers at any stage of their analysis journey and making certain that our analysis is performed to greatest follow of analysis ethics.
Analysis ethics at all times has new challenges to face such because the age of AI and its integration into analysis. As AI turns into a part of analysis, ethics will assist us navigate questions on knowledge privateness, bias and accountability.
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