Brian P. Helmke
- Email: bph6n@virginia.edu
- Phone: 434-924-6460
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Disciplines
Biophysics, Biotechnology, Cardiovascular Biology
Research Interests
Intracellular Mechanics and Cell Function
Research Description
Several tools are used for investigating cellular mechanotransduction. Expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to cytoskeletal or other proteins makes it possible to visualize endogenous intracellular structures, and fluorescence probes enable detection of intracellular signaling molecules such as nitric oxide. High-resolution optical sectioning microscopy, deconvolution, and 3-D image restoration provide quantitative spatial and temporal information. Quantitative image analysis tools analyze intracellular movement, molecular interactions, and biochemical response. Nanotechnology-based structures control mechanical stimuli at the length scale of individual protein structures near the cell surface. Engineering nanoscale spatial cues into the cell’s local environment will enable rational design of cell phenotype for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Thus, projects in our laboratory bring together a joint biomedical engineering, materials science, and molecular biology approach to understanding cellular physiology.
Personal Statement
and protein expression, and biochemical functions. For example, endothelial cells
lining the artery wall at the blood tissue interface experience fluid mechanical
forces that vary with time and location along the artery. However, the mechanisms
by which cells transduce mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals are not well
understood. Our laboratory employs a multidisciplinary biomedical engineering
approach to understand the relationship between intracellular mechanics and cell
function.
Several tools are used for investigating cellular mechanotransduction. Expression
of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to cytoskeletal or other proteins makes
it possible to visualize endogenous intracellular structures, and fluorescence
probes enable detection of intracellular signaling molecules such as nitric
oxide. High-resolution optical sectioning microscopy, deconvolution, and 3-D
image restoration provide quantitative spatial and temporal information. Quantitative
image analysis tools analyze intracellular movement, molecular interactions,
and biochemical response. Nanotechnology-based structures control mechanical
stimuli at the length scale of individual protein structures near the cell surface.
Engineering nanoscale spatial cues into the cell’s local environment will
enable rational design of cell phenotype for regenerative medicine and tissue
engineering. Thus, projects in our laboratory bring together a joint biomedical
engineering, materials science, and molecular biology approach to understanding
cellular physiology.
Selected Publications
Huang L, Helmke BP, Polarized actin structural dynamics in response to cyclic uniaxial stretch., 2015; Cellular and molecular bioengineering. 8(1) 160-177. PMID: 25821527 | PMCID: PMC4372154
Wang CW, Perez MJ, Helmke BP, Viola F, Lawrence MB, Integration of acoustic radiation force and optical imaging for blood plasma clot stiffness measurement., 2015; PloS one. 10(6) e0128799. PMID: 26042775 | PMCID: PMC4456080
Brown G, Butler PJ, Chang DW, Chien S, Clegg RM, Dewey CF, Dong C, Guo XE, Helmke BP, Hess H, Jacobs CR, Kaunas RR, Kumar S, Lu HH, Mathur AB, Mow VC, Schmid-Schönbein GW, Skoracki R, Wang N, Wang Y, Zhu C, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering: A Tipping Point., 2012; Cellular and molecular bioengineering. 5(3) 239-253. PMID: 23264805 | PMCID: PMC3525706
Huang L, Helmke BP, A Semi-Automatic Method for Image Analysis of Edge Dynamics in Living Cells., 2011; Cellular and molecular bioengineering. 4(2) 205-219. PMID: 21643526 | PMCID: PMC3105629
Huang L, Mathieu PS, Helmke BP, A stretching device for high-resolution live-cell imaging., 2010; Annals of biomedical engineering. 38(5) 1728-40. PMID: 20195762 | PMCID: PMC3468334
Choi CK, Helmke BP, Short-Term Shear Stress Induces Rapid Actin Dynamics in Living Endothelial Cells., 2010; Molecular & cellular biomechanics : MCB. 5(4) 247-258. PMID: 20084179 | PMCID: PMC2806644
Lin X, Helmke BP, Micropatterned structural control suppresses mechanotaxis of endothelial cells., 2008; Biophysical journal. 95(6) 3066-78. PMID: 18586851 | PMCID: PMC2527245
Snook JH, Li J, Helmke BP, Guilford WH, Peroxynitrite inhibits myofibrillar protein function in an in vitro assay of motility., 2007; Free radical biology & medicine. 44(1) 14-23. PMID: 18045543 | PMCID: PMC2180163
Mott RE, Helmke BP, Mapping the dynamics of shear stress-induced structural changes in endothelial cells., 2007; American journal of physiology. Cell physiology. 293(5) C1616-26. PMID: 17855768 | PMCID: PMC2746721
Orr AW, Helmke BP, Blackman BR, Schwartz MA, Mechanisms of mechanotransduction., 2006; Developmental cell. 10(1) 11-20. PMID: 16399074
Sinha S, Wamhoff BR, Hoofnagle MH, Thomas J, Neppl RL, Deering T, Helmke BP, Bowles DK, Somlyo AV, Owens GK, Assessment of contractility of purified smooth muscle cells derived from embryonic stem cells., 2006; Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio). 24(7) 1678-88. PMID: 16601077
Helmke BP, Minerick AR, Designing a nano-interface in a microfluidic chip to probe living cells: challenges and perspectives., 2006; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103(17) 6419-24. PMID: 16618928 | PMCID: PMC1458901