ANISH PULIGILLA

In the Fall of 2018, I joined the Ocular Biomechanics Lab (PI: Dr. Ian Sigal). My work here evolved over the course of my time as a research assistant and has shaped how I hope to use biomedical engineering concepts in my own research career.  Early on, I processed images of the eyes of non-human primates using an image analysis software, Avizo, to map the relationship between blood vessels and collagen in the lamina and sclera. The relationship between vessels and collagen has been a point of contentious debate in the scientific community and my work has helped get us closer to determining the answer. 

 

During my senior year, I utilized a novel biaxial stretch device to assess the difference in stiffness between fibers that are interwoven vs non-interwoven to potentially explain why interwoven collagen architectures are observed in the sclera. This has been another ongoing debate in the scientific community as the interwoven effects of fibers have been understated when discussing the strength of collagen in the eye. I was fortunate enough to be able to present my research at Pitt's BioE Day in February 2020. This experience allowed me engage with BioE faculty, graduate students, and fellow peers about my research as I got to gather feedback and answer some great questions about my work!

 

My experience using this device has given me experience with macroscale biomechanical experiments and analysis. I hope to conduct further experiments on a microscale level as I believe these skills will serve me well in the future when I hope to do research on traumatic brain injury.