"Chaos to Clot: Microfluidic Models of Hemostasis in Traumatic Injury and Transfusion"

This event is sponsored by FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering.

Abstract: In the US, over 30,000 people die each year due to traumatic injury that could have been saved if they had received more timely or appropriate care. Further exacerbating poor clinical outcomes is a unique acute coagulopathy induced by injury itself, which increases mortality risk by 400%. Improving outcomes for these patients is a complex problem as there are multiple contributing factors to each individual’s pathophysiology. In addition, the treatment for bleeding in trauma is to transfuse blood products, which also come with their own distinct mechanistic changes due to both material surface interactions and extended storage outside of the body. This seminar will focus on the use of microfluidics to better understand traumatic coagulopathy and its treatments, including blood product function, and will also discuss philosophies and approaches surrounding multidisciplinary clinically translational research.

Dr. Susan M.Shea

Assistant Professor

Department of Surgery

University of Pittsburgh

Speaker Bio: Dr. Shea is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Bioengineering. Dr. Shea received her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology in Bioengineering and completed postgraduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Dr. Shea’s research focuses on the role of platelets in hemostatic resuscitation. Dr. Shea develops physiologically-fidelic microfluidic assays and platforms to simulate biomechanics and fluid dynamics of vessel injury ex vivo. These same tools are also employed to study the hemostatic efficacy of novel and existing blood products, as well as other treatments and approaches to rescue hemostatic dysfunction, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. Dr. Shea enjoys time with her husband and dogs, as well as time in nature, gardening, knitting, and knocking places off of her scuba diving bucket list.