BME Lecture Series (Zoom): Tzung Hsiai, UCLA

Light at the End of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Integration of Light Sheet and Light Field to Discover Cardiovascular Biomechanics

Abstract: During cardiac development, peristaltic contraction of the embryonic heart tube produces time-varying hemodynamic forces and pressure gradients across the atrioventricular canal. However, the relative importance of myocardial contraction and hemodynamic force to modulate cardiac morphogenesis remain poorly understood. By using a dual illumination and dual detection light-sheet system, we recapitulate flow-mediated Notch1b-Nrg1-ErbB2 signaling underlying the initiation of endocardial trabeculation for contractile function. We demonstrate myocardial contractile force-mediated Notch1b-endothealial mesenchymal transition underlying valvulogenesis in the ventricular outflow tract. Overall, we integrate advanced optics with zebrafish genetics to provide biomechanical insights into cardiac development with translational implications to congenital heart disease.

Bio: Dr. Hsiai is a professor of medicine and bioengineering. He received his undergraduate education from Columbia University and his medical training from the University of Chicago. He completed his internship, residency and NIH-funded cardiovascular fellowship at the UCLA School of Engineering and Medicine, where he developed micro-sensors to study mechano-transduction underlying vascular development, injury and repair. His group is instrumental in promoting team science that led to the LA PRISM Program between UCLA Bioinformatics and USC Environmental Health. His multidisciplinary team has converged NIH-funded collaborations with Caltech, Cornell, Emory/Georgia Tech, Mayo Clinic, Stanford, USC and UCSD. He is founding director of the NIH T32 Caltech/UCLA integrated programs (iTEAM and iCMB) for training the next generation of cardiovascular bioengineers. He has served as the chair of the American Physiological Society Joint Meeting with the Biomedical Engineering Society, chair of the NIH 3-D printing study section, AHA Scientific Planning Committee, and co-chair of the Gordon Research Conference (2021). He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation; member of the National Institutes of Health Bioengineering, Biotechnology and Surgical Science Study Section; fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and Biomedical Engineering Society; College Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE); and recipient of an American Heart Association John J. Simpson Outstanding Research Achievement Award, USC School of Engineering Junior Faculty Research Award, and UCLA SEAS Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.