Cardiovascular Biomechanics Research Group
Lally Lab, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
About US
Using non-invasive vascular imaging techniques, such as Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging, we aim to develop novel diagnostic techniques for early detection of vascular degeneration.
We also use in vitro and in silico modeling approaches to aid the design and development of intravascular medical devices for the treatment of existing vascular disease.
Prof. Caitríona Lally is a Professor in Bioengineering within the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Principal Investigator in the Trinity Centre for Biomedical (TCBE) in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). She received her BEng (Mechanical Engineering) and MEng (Biomedical Engineering) degrees from University of Limerick and in 2004 she obtained a PhD from Trinity College Dublin in the area of arterial biomechanics and cardiovascular stenting. Immediately following her Ph.D., she took up a lecturing position in the School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering at Dublin City University, and was appointed senior lecturer in 2014. She returned to TCD in 2015 as a Professor in Bioengineering.
Our research
Lab News
Celia and Yasmine Win Prizes at the 25th Sir Bernard Crossland Symposium - September 2022
Yasmine Guendouz from the Lally Lab was awarded first prize for her technical paper submission and presentation, and Celia Hughes, also from the Lally Lab, received the second-place prize for her poster.
Dr. Niall Linnane Wins the Charles S. Kleinman Scholarship Award - September 2022
Dr. Niall Linnane attended the Pediatric and Congenital Interventional Cardiovascular Society symposium in Chicago, and won the prestigious Charles S. Kleinman Scholarship Award. Congratulations Niall!
research team
Dr. Majid Akbarzadeh Khorshidi
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Development of implantable urological devices - finite element analysis approach
Dr. Jhaleh Amirian
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Development of implantable urological devices – experimental approach
Celia Hughes
PhD Candidate
The development of bioinspired prosthetic heart valve leaflets for TAVR using additive manufacturing and finite element modelling
Yasmine Guendouz
PhD Candidate
Using Machine Learning to identify the critical features of carotid artery plaque vulnerability from Ultrasound images
Aoife Glynn
PhD Candidate
Understanding the critical parameters which influence the success of cerebral artery thrombectomy procedures
Francesco Digeronimo
PhD Candidate
Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping MRI imaging to quantify carotid plaque rupture risk
Luke Guerin
PhD Candidate
To determine the critical role damage plays in calcification of porcine pericardial leaflets with a view to minimizing damage and calcification and improving transcatheter aortic valve leaflet durability.
Jessica Bagnall
PhD Candidate
Deep Learning for Magnetic Resonance Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping of Carotid Plaques
Pratibha Gupta
Research Assistant
Using melt electrowriting of polymers to manufacture bio-inspired bioprosthetic aortic valve leaflets.
Daniel Lough
Master's Student
Exploring the tunability of mesh reinforced PVA hydrogels to match the mechanical properties of human Tunica Albuginea tissue.
Ryan Ginley
Master's Student
Exploring mechanical compression to minimise pericardium calcification.
Natasha Chvets
Master's Student
Exploring the effect of leaflet thickness on the longevity of polymeric bioinspired prosthetic valves composed of melt electrowritten PCL embedded in silicone, and assessing the result of varying fibre angle on its mechanical properties
Dr. Robert Johnston
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Fundamental insights into rupture mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque tissue: Determining possible new diagnostic measures of plaque vulnerability
Dr. Shirsha Bose
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Development of implantable urological devices - experimental approach
Dr. Brooke Tornifoglio
Postdoctoral Researcher
Quantitative MRI for arterial tissue biomarkers
Dr. Niall Linnane
Doctor of Medicine (MD) Candidate
Paediatric Coarctation Mechanical and Microstructural Characterisation
Dr. Alix Whelan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Collagen fibre-mediated fatigue mechanics of pericardium for use in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements
Dr. Ciara McKenna
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
In-silico investigation into stent design for aortic coarctation treatment
Dr. Orla McGee
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Designing bespoke stents optimized for both patient needs and for selective laser melting (3D printing) and development of an agent-based model in Matlab to assess smooth muscle cell response varying levels of cyclic strain.
Dr. Alan Stone
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Non-invasive vascular imaging techniques
Dr. David Nolan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Investigating cardiovascular biomechanics and mechanobiology using computational and experimental methods.
Dr. Emma Fitzpatrick
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Investigating the role of collagen fibre structure and strain on vascular cell proliferation and differentiation
Dr. Robert Gaul
PhD Candidate
Fundamental Insights into Arterial Remodelling; Strain-Mediated Degradation of Arterial Collagen
Dr. Pattie Mathieu
PhD Candidate
Multipotent vascular stem cells and the effects of cyclic tensile strain, collagen structure and stenting on medial vascular cell populations
Dr. Milad Ghasemi
PhD Candidate
Mechanical Assessment of the Risk of Atherosclerotic Plaque Rupture in Carotid Arteries with a Focus on Damage Accumulation
Dr. Behrooz Fereidoonnezhad
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Computational Modelling
Sam Geraghty
Research Master's
Optimisation and 3D Printing of Paediatric Stents
Jemil Saidi
MSc Student
Optimisation and 3D printing of Titanium paediatric stents
Noor Adeebah Mohamed Razif
MSc Student
Combining Ultrasound Displacement Imaging with Inverse Finite Element Analysis to Characterise Atherosclerotic Lesion in Carotid Artery using PVA Phantom
Matthew Laffey
MSc Student
Itziar Ríos Ruiz
Visiting PhD Student
Quantification of mechanical damage in blood vessels caused by stent expansion
Helena Brech
Research Assistant
Development of an at-home blood collection supporting device in collaboration with P&M Medical Ltd (www.hometesting.ie).
James Murphy
MAI Student
The development of a suitable surrogate model for the investigation of the biomechanics of an atherosclerotic artery using polyvinyl alcohol cryogel, ultrasound imaging and finite element analysis.
Desmond McCarthy
MAI Student
Exploring the suitability of different melt electrowriting (MEW) structures for biomimetic polymeric heart valve leaflets.
Claire Lemass
MAI Student
The development of a urological benchtop model for urinary sphincter testing and design.
Alice Hanly
MAI Student
Derbhla McMullan
MAI Student
Optimisation and 3D printing of polymer paediatric stents
Floriane Bernasconi
Research Internship
Dr. Conor O'Keeffe
Postdoctoral Researcher
publications
Funding & Partnerships
Vacancies
- Irish Research Council Postgraduate Fellowships
- Marie Sklodowska Individual Fellowships
ERC Starting Grant
Frontier research in arterial fibre remodelling for vascular disease diagnosis and tissue engineering
Summary
Each year cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms cause 48% of all deaths in Europe. Arteries may be regarded as fibre-reinforced materials, with the stiffer collagen fibres present in the arterial wall bearing most of the load during pressurisation. Degenerative vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysms alter the macroscopic mechanical properties of arterial tissue and therefore change the arterial wall composition and the quality and orientation of the underlying fibrous architecture. Information on the complex fibre architecture of arterial tissues is therefore at the core of understanding the aetiology of vascular diseases. The current proposal aims to use a combination of in vivo Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging, with parallel in silico modelling, to non-invasively identify differences in the fibre architecture of human carotid arteries which can be directly linked with carotid artery disease and hence used to diagnose vulnerable plaque rupture risk. Knowledge of arterial fibre patterns, and how these fibres alter in response to their mechanical environment, also provides a means of understanding remodelling of tissue engineered vessels. Therefore, in the second phase of this project, this novel imaging framework will be used to determine fibre patterns of decellularised arterial constructs in vitro with a view to directing mesenchymal stem cell growth and differentiation and creating a biologically and mechanically compatible tissue engineered vessel. In silico mechanobiological models will also be used to help identify the optimum loading environment for the vessels to encourage cell repopulation but prevent excessive intimal hyperplasia. This combination of novel in vivo, in vitro and in silico work has the potential to revolutionise approaches to early diagnosis of vascular diseases and vascular tissue engineering strategies