Speaker: Timothy W. Secomb, Ph.D., University of Arizona,
Title: Making microvascular networks work: angiogenesis, remodeling and pruning
Physiological transport of materials is accomplished mainly by convective transport in blood together with diffusion into surrounding tissue. This requires hierarchical network structures to allow efficient flow distribution, together with many small terminal vessels to allow short diffusion distances. Such structures emerge by local responses to available biological signals, through the processes of angiogenesis, remodeling and pruning. Theoretical simulations show how these processes can lead to functional network structures, and how defects in vascular function can lead to impaired tissue oxygenation.