Research Projects

This project aims to understand how axons respond to stretch deformations, both within and outside the physiological limit. The responses can be categorized as slow regimes, which correspond to stretch-induced growth, and fast regimes, where viscoelastic stretch occurs during limb movements, brain deformations, and conditions causing peripheral nerve injury. Both growth and viscoelastic responses are relevant in patients undergoing limb extension surgery, where bones are synthetically extended, placing a severe demand on the nerves to accommodate this stretch. The main objectives include developing tools for evaluating axonal adaptations to slow or fast stretch, investigating the response and adaptation of the axonal cytoskeleton to slow and fast stretch regimes, and understanding the mechanisms of membrane addition during stretch-growth and fast axonal stretch. The project will use a microfluidic stretcher platform, a PDMS-based isotropic stretch device, and a Micro-extension rheometer to quantitatively probe axonal mechanical response. The project will also investigate the role of spectrin in protecting axons and develop spectrin constructs to test the shock-absorbing effect of spectrin through domain unfolding.