Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Summary of Research
Dr. Matthews' background is in Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine and he combine research activity with clinical responsibilities as a staff physician in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His primary research interest is to understand the effects of mechanical forces on cell behavior, and to design a cell-based research model to explore the molecular mechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury. He has developed two new magnet-based micromanipulation techniques to probe cell mechanics and study mechanotransduction - a permanent magnetic microneedle, and an automated electromagnetic microneedle. Both devices are capable of applying large scale (nN) mechanical forces to cells through micron and nanometer-sized magnetic beads coated with specific receptor ligands. His current investigations focus on analysis of viscoelastic properties of individual focal adhesions, cellular adaption responses to mechanical stress, and the related biochemical signaling pathways responsible for these cell behaviors, specifically the activation of stretch activated membrane ion channels and the nuclear transcription factor NFKB.
Contact Information
Phone: 617-724-4380
Fax: 617-724-4391
