Michael Sacks

Biography

Professor Sacks' research focuses on the quantification and modeling of the structure-mechanical properties of native and engineered cardiovascular soft tissues. He is a leading authority on the mechanical behavior and function of the native aortic and mitral heart valves, including the development of the first constitutive models for these tissues using a structural approach. He is also active in the biomechanics of engineered tissues, and in understanding the in-vitro and in-vivo remodeling processes from a functional biomechanical perspective. His research includes multi-scale studies of cell/tissue/organ mechanical interactions in heart valves. He is particularly interested in determining the local stress environment for heart valve interstitial cells. Recent research has included developing novel constitutive models of right ventricular myocardium that allow for the individual contributions of the myocyte and connective tissue networks.

Research Interest

Computational Biomedical Engineering,  Biomechanics, Cardiovascular biomechanics; computational simulation of the behavior of the cardiovascular system; advanced constitutive models, biomechanical interactions of cell, tissue, and organ in native and engineered heart valves and myocardium.