MateriAlZ Seminar: Alix Deymier
Friday, Sept 3rd, 2021, 11:00 am MST
Assistant Professor Alix Deymier, Biomedical Engineering
University of Connecticut Health Center
"A mean ol’ acid: Elucidating the effect of acidic physiological environments on skeletal tissues"
Zoom link
Passcode: 796603
MateriAlZ Seminar website | YouTube | Twitter
Abstract: The skeleton is generally thought of as a structural organ; however, it is also the body’s primary regulator of ion exchange. Although bone’s mechanical and chemical functions are both essential, one can become a detriment to the other especially in pathological situations like paralysis or acidosis. Acidosis, a condition in which the body exhibits a reduced pH, is associated with drops in bone mineral density and increased fracture risk. However, the process by which this chemical change causes mechanical consequences is unclear. Dr. Deymier uses a combination of in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro techniques to elucidate the mechanisms by which acidosis deteriorates bones. Previous research suggests that high acid content in body fluids causes bone dissolution via physio-chemical and cellular pathways. Biologists have long held that the cellular response dominates this acid-induced dissolution. However, Dr. Deymier’s work comparing live bones to decellularized bones in acid has shown that many clinical markers of acidosis in bone such as changes in bone composition and toughness are recapitulated without cells. This physio-chemical response is further investigated by exposing bone-like biomimetic minerals to a multitude of solutions, thus explaining the dissolution mechanisms present in bone tissue and how it is affected by pathological changes in body fluid composition. Overall, this talk will present a cohesive multi-scale overview of how bone material responds to modified environmental chemical conditions.
Bio: Alix Deymier, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in Biomedical Engineering at UConn Health. She is interested in studying the role of mineral composition, structure, and organization on the mechanics of mineralized biological tissue especially in the context of acid-base interactions in the body. Her interests focus on how pH modifying pathologies such as acidosis and unloading can affect bone structure and function at the nano --, micro --, and macro scales. She was previously an NSBRI postdoctoral fellow in Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University and Washington University She obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University in 2012 and her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Arizona in 2006.