The American Society of Mechanical Engineering recently honored the UA College of Engineering’s Jonathan Vande Geest with its Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award, which recognizes significant research in bioengineering. Vande Geest will receive the award in late June at the 2013 ASME Bioengineering Conference in Sunriver, Ore.

Vande Geest, who holds appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, the BIO5 Institute, and the Applied Mathematics Program, credits a collaborative multidisciplinary environment -- engineering, biology and medicine -- with his success in the field.

"I have had the opportunity to work with incredibly intelligent faculty and students. More so than anything else, that is why I have been successful," he said. "We tackle broad health-care problems, look at the challenges from many viewpoints, and devise solutions that significantly affect people’s lives."

Vande Geest heads the UA College of Engineering’s Soft Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory, where researchers study the structure-function relationship in soft tissues and use that knowledge to help develop new technologies for the treatment of disease.

Among the ongoing projects in Vande Geest’s laboratory are the development of a tissue-engineered vascular graft for coronary artery bypass surgery and a patient-specific device to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms. Newer to his laboratory are research projects involving the diagnosis of unilateral vocal fold paralysis and glaucoma.

"My dad was a plumber, and my grandpa was a plumber. I think subconsciously I decided I was going to study the aorta because it is the largest pipe in our body. The thing that I am most excited about is the focus of our laboratory in understanding how collagen and elastin are organized to bring about proper tissue function.” Jonathan Vande Geest, recipient of the 2013 ASME Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award for his contributions to bioengineering research.

Tissue-Engineered Vascular Graft

Effective small-diameter vascular grafts critical in treating heart disease, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, often are unattainable or inadequate. Thus, Vande Geest and his collaborators -- Burt Ensley and Robert Kellar at Protein Genomics Inc. and Thomas Doetschman at the UA BIO5 Institute  -- are constructing a small-diameter tissue-engineered vascular graft that mimics the structure, composition and mechanical properties of native coronary arteries.

Patient-Specific Aneurysm Device

Treatment of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, an enlargement of the aorta where it splits to supply blood to the lower part of the body, often involves inserting a costly stent to relieve pressure and help avoid a potentially fatal rupture. Vande Geest’s affordable, patient-specific device, made of smart polymers, is designed to conform to a patient’s aorta and aneurysm, thus eliminating complications from movement and leaks sometimes associated with more traditional stent grafts. Working closely with Vande Geest on the project are the UA’s Dr. Marvin Slepian, professor of medicine and biomedical engineering and director of interventional cardiology at the Sarver Heart Center, and Dr. Joseph Mills, professor of surgery and chief of vascular and endovascular surgery.

Vocal Cord Paralysis Research

Vande Geest’s focus on the aorta naturally led to research on unilateral vocal fold paralysis because of the close proximity between the aorta and the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The recurrent laryngeal nerve connects the larynx to the brain and controls muscles in the larynx, or voice box. It branches from the vagus nerve in the neck then travels to the chest and loops underneath the aorta before returning to the larynx in the throat. During open heart surgery, the recurrent laryngeal nerve may be moved or stretched, sometimes causing unilateral, or one-sided, vocal cord paralysis -- a condition that can result in ongoing and severe problems with speaking, swallowing, and even breathing.

While open heart surgery is one of the leading causes of unilateral vocal cord paralysis, the cause in many cases is unknown. The unknown causes are what interest Vande Geest, co-principal investigator on the project, and Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer, principal investigator and professor of otolaryngology at the University of California, Davis.

"We believe that increased aortic compliance or size of the aorta may be causing damage to the nerve in some of these idiopathic cases of vocal cord paralysis," said Vande Geest, explaining that aortic compliance refers to the artery’s expansion in response to a localized increase in blood pressure.

Expanded Understanding of Glaucoma

Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, refers to a group of eye conditions that lead to damage of the optic nerve. Typically the damage is attributed to increased pressure in the eye, also known as intraocular pressure. However, by studying the mechanical properties of how the tissue structure changes in people at high risk of developing glaucoma, Vande Geest and his team, including Dr. Christopher Girkin, chairman of the department of ophthalmology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, hope to expand the understanding of what causes glaucoma and improve diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

"Alterations in the makeup and properties of the tissues near the optic nerve may predispose certain high-risk populations to primary open angle glaucoma, even at relatively low intraocular pressures," Vande Geest said.

Research Stretches Beyond Specific Diseases

Most of the technologies Vande Geest and his team are developing address specific conditions, but many of the solutions could apply to any soft tissue in which collagen and elastin are present. Collagen, which gives tissue its strength and flexibility, and elastin, which returns it to its original shape after being stretched, are proteins that make up the main structural components of soft tissue.

"The thing that I am most excited about is the focus of our laboratory in understanding how collagen and elastin are organized to bring about proper tissue function," he said.

From Iowa Plumbing Family to the Body’s Largest Pipe

The primary sources of funding for Vande Geest’s research are the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the National Science Foundation.

Vande Geest joined the UA faculty in 2005 after receiving his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to the Y.C. Fung Award, he has received a National Science Foundation Career award for the development of his aneurysm device and most recently was awarded a visiting fellowship to the Oxford Centre for Collaborative and Applied Mathematics, University of Oxford, UK. He has published 39 original research papers and more than 75 conference proceedings. Vande Geest also played a key role in developing the biomechanics curriculum for the UA’s new Department of Biomedical Engineering.

It is no wonder that Vande Geest chose bioengineering, with is focus on pumps, valves, pipes, filters and contents under pressure. He comes from a family of plumbers.

"In retrospect, my dad was a plumber and my grandpa was a plumber. I think subconsciously I decided I was going to study the aorta because it is the largest pipe in our body," said Vande Geest.