Microfluidic analysis

Lead data scientist and bench scientist experimentalist

This study explores how white blood cell (WBC) softening, induced by glucocorticoids (e.g., dexamethasone) and catecholamines (e.g., epinephrine), plays a key role in demargination—a biological process where WBCs detach from blood vessel walls and enter circulation. Using microfluidic models and computational simulations, the study highlights that reduced mechanical stiffness of WBCs directly contributes to their faster transit through microvascular systems, leading to an increase in clinical WBC counts.

A kinetic Monte Carlo simulation was employed to model the interactions between deformable (red blood cells, or RBCs) and stiff (WBC) cells under shear flow. The computational model confirmed that reducing WBC stiffness leads to demargination by altering the physical interactions between cells and the vessel walls.

Some of the key challenges I addressed as a part of this project include:

Skills developed include: computational fluid dynamics, custom image analysis pipelines, and bench work skills including microfluidic design and fabrication, high-speed microscopy, flow cytometry, and AFM

Modeling Leukocyte Behavior Under Shear Flow

Modeling Leukocyte Behavior Under Shear Flow

Simulating cell-cell collisions and the deformation dynamics under blood flow required a complex kinetic theory and Monte Carlo approach, demanding careful validation against experimental results.

Scaling Simulations for Multiphase Flows

Scaling Simulations for Multiphase Flows

Simulating multiple types of cells (WBCs and RBCs) in flow required modeling their different stiffness levels and predicting margination behavior.

Integration of Fluid Dynamics with Cell Mechanics

Integration of Fluid Dynamics with Cell Mechanics

Understanding how changes in WBC stiffness affects both their movement through microfluidic channels and their interactions with the vessel walls.

Large-Scale Data Analysis

Large-Scale Data Analysis

Custom MATLAB code was developed to analyze thousands of leukocyte positions in microfluidic images, tracking their flow behavior under varying conditions.

Modeling Leukocyte Behavior Under Shear Flow

Modeling Leukocyte Behavior Under Shear Flow

Simulating cell-cell collisions and the deformation dynamics under blood flow required a complex kinetic theory and Monte Carlo approach, demanding careful validation against experimental results.

Scaling Simulations for Multiphase Flows

Scaling Simulations for Multiphase Flows

Simulating multiple types of cells (WBCs and RBCs) in flow required modeling their different stiffness levels and predicting margination behavior.

Integration of Fluid Dynamics with Cell Mechanics

Integration of Fluid Dynamics with Cell Mechanics

Understanding how changes in WBC stiffness affects both their movement through microfluidic channels and their interactions with the vessel walls.

Large-Scale Data Analysis

Large-Scale Data Analysis

Custom MATLAB code was developed to analyze thousands of leukocyte positions in microfluidic images, tracking their flow behavior under varying conditions.