William Tang

Dr. Tang’s research focuses on studying biological systems at the micro- and nano-scales with mechanically-derived modalities. In traditional biomechanics, the human body is viewed as an intricate collection of interacting mechanical structures and systems that exhibit both static and dynamic mechanical behaviors. These studies are usually confined to the level of the entire organisms, physiological subsystems, or individual organs. The rapid advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies offer a set of powerful tools that allows studying biomechanics at the micro scale. This will shed lights on the finer details of biomechanics, and may uncover fundamental knowledge of the origin of mechanical behaviors in living organisms.

Dr. Tang is developing devices and platforms that enable both in-vitro and in-vivo studies of the mechanical aspects in physiological activities involving cells, tissues, and organs. They would be suitable for interfacing and interrogating the mechanical phenomena of interest within the targeted physiological activities at the length-scales that are beyond the reach of traditional biomedical instrumentations. His vision is that these devices and platforms will enable new research efforts to understand the significance of biomechanics at the most basic unit of life -- the cell. He also aims at enabling clinically-relevant applications that require accurate real-time data on the stress-strain distributions in the organs or physiological systems for investigation and diagnosis of the mechanical implications of health and diseases within the organs. One of the ultimate goals is to leverage the understanding in physiological phenomena researched with these tools to develop prosthetic devices to restore both sensory and motor functions that are mechanical in nature within the body.