Unlocking Heart Repair: Computational Models for Cardiovascular Tissue Growth 🫀

The VPHi Keynote Webinar "Computational Modeling for Growth and Remodeling in Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering" featuring Professor Sandra Loerakker from the Eindhoven University of Technology was streamed live on Wednesday 4 June 2025, 9:30-11:00 during the 8th VPH Summer School in Barcelona.

Abstract

Engineered cardiovascular tissues have the intrinsic ability to grow and adapt to changes in their hemodynamic environment. This fascinating adaptive capacity gives these tissues the potential to overcome the limitations of current cardiovascular replacements that are unable to accommodate changes in the recipient’s demands. For cardiovascular tissue engineering to be successful, however, we need to thoroughly understand the responsible growth and remodeling mechanisms, and be able to steer tissue development towards establishing a physiological tissue organization and long-term tissue functionality. In this talk, Prof Loerakker will discuss how computational modeling, particularly when integrated with experimental research, can aid in addressing both challenges. She will give a conceptual overview of the computational models developed to analyze the growth and remodeling of cardiovascular tissues, with a primary focus on heart valves and blood vessels.

Biosketch

Sandra Loerakker is an Associate Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), The Netherlands. She obtained her PhD at TU/e in 2011, for which she was awarded the ESB Best Doctoral Thesis in Biomechanics Award (2012) and the EPUAP Novice Investigator Award (2012). She performed part of this research at Northwestern University (USA) and in collaboration with the University of Alberta (Canada). Sandra was appointed as Assistant Professor at TU/e in 2015, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2019. From May 2016 – April 2017, supported by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship, she also was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Stanford University (USA). Sandra’s research focuses on developing experimentally informed computational models to understand and predict how mechanical factors regulate soft tissue regeneration and adaptation, with a primary focus on cardiovascular regenerative medicine. She is the recipient of prestigious personal grants (ERC Starting Grant in 2018, Vidi grant from the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO) in 2022), and she has been elected as Best Master Teacher of TU/e’s Biomedical Engineering Department (2018, 2019, 2022, 2024) and of TU/e (2022). In 2024, she was elected as new Council member of the European Society of Biomechanics.