All shapes and sizes, and loved all the same

Owners say designer dogs mix the best of two breeds

By Taryn Plumb | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Affectionate, protective, patient, empathetic, with a set of floppy, expressive ears and a penchant for walks and jumping on trampolines, Halo the schnoodle is like the daughter Sherry Gordon-Shulik never had (she’s the mother of three grown sons).

And that even surprised the Andover schoolteacher herself.

“I never knew my life was going to change so much by welcoming a dog into our house,” Gordon-Shulik said of the 11-year-old dark and curly-haired dog, a mix between a schnauzer and a poodle. “It was almost like our family was complete.”

It’s no revelation to say that Americans love their four-legged companions: The canine industry in this country exceeds $65 billion, and roughly 72 million households have at least one dog, according to petcarerx.com.

Growing among that number are what are known as hybrids or “designer” dogs – a cross between two breeds that may cost 25 to 50 percent more than their purebred lineages.

Susan Vernon-Gerstenfeld of Newton grew up with all kinds of dogs, but once she learned about the cockapoo — a mix of cocker spaniel and poodle — she was smitten.

“This is the best dog we’ve had,” she said of 5-year-old Brandon, a 15-pound black-and-white cockapoo she purchased from Erin Nagle, who breeds them on Cape Ann.

“He’s just a loveable little guy,” she said, calling him funny, easily trained, and possessing “an incredible vocabulary.”

“We wanted a cuddly, neat, non-alpha dog,” said Vernon-Gerstenfeld, an adjunct professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “Brandon is all of those things.”

Although they number more than 500 different types with such playful names as alusky, pookimo, and shih-mo, none are yet accepted by the American Kennel Club – where some breeds’ pedigrees stretch back multiple centuries – and they are sometimes slung with such pejoratives as “mutts” and “frankendogs.”

But breeders insist that the goal is to bring out the best of the two parent breeds, while minimizing recessive genetic dysfunctions inherent in some purebreds.

“Regardless of whether a purebred or hybrid, you need to be careful about who you’re crossing with whom, and be very deliberate about what traits you’re trying to anchor,” said Nagle, who runs Erin’s New England Cockapoos, raises the puppies in her home, and now breeds cockapoo to cockapoo.

One of the most consistent parent breeds is the poodle, which is known for being a lower-shed dog; it spawned two of the first and most popular hybrids: cockapoos and labradoodles (a mix with a Labrador retriever).

But new breeds are emerging all the time – including the “brat,” (Boston terrier-American rat terrier) and the “bassetoodle,” (basset hound-poodle) – as recorded by such organizations as the International Designer Canine Registry and the Designer Dogs Kennel Club.

Rob Halpin, director of public relations at MSPCA-Angell, doesn’t care what kind of dog people choose, as long as they visit a shelter and consider adopting a homeless pet before buying.

“We can’t tell people what kind of dog to get – people are free to acquire any kind of dog that they want,” he said. “We understand there are some traits, whether aesthetic or behavior-related, that people want to turn up or turn down. Our hope, always, is that people will adopt a dog before buying a dog.”

At its three shelters across the state, more than 60 percent of dogs are pitbull-types, as well as larger mutts. Few hybrids are surrendered, and they generally don’t last long, Halpin said.

“We see some, but they’re the exception, not the rule,” Halpin said. “When they come in, they get snatched up pretty quickly because they’re so rare.”

As Nagle noted, pretty much whenever any breed is mixed with a poodle, “something magical happens,” because poodles are known for their high level of intelligence, personality, and athleticism.

Cockapoos weigh 10 to 30 pounds, depending on their lineage, and are typically “tolerant, goofy, sweet, and cuddly,” Nagle said. They also are low-shedding — making them more appealing to those with allergies — and low-odor. However, she stressed, “hypoallergenic they’re not,” nor are other breeds that claim to be, because all dogs shed.

“I’ve grown up my entire life with dogs – poodles, Maltese, cocker spaniels, and collies,” she said. But “when I saw my first cockapoo, I was just wowed by the combination of portability, adorable physical features, and the quick, smart, playful, wonderful personality. I found that combination of traits in one adorable little package to be too irresistible for me.”

She bred her first cockapoo, Lily, in the 1990s, and sells them now for about $2,000. She does regular genetic testing to make sure her puppies are healthy, and has a personal and intensive process for matching dogs and their human parents based on factors such as temperament and activity level.

“There are a lot of dogs out there that have no homes,” she said, so if she’s going to put new dogs out into the world, she wants to make the most “intelligent, informed match.”

Given the sheer variety of breeds, Gordon-Shulik didn’t quite know where to begin when looking for a puppy.

A couple of informal online tests matched her family 98 percent with a schnoodle, based on their desire for a lap dog that was low-shed because nearly all family members have asthma. Testimonies helped, too – a friend called it “the most perfect dog.”

“They really don’t take that much work and they give you so much more,” said Gordon-Shulik, a teacher at Temple Emanuel in Andover. “My husband didn’t want [dogs] at all, and now we’ll never be without two.”

Halo, she said, is bright, serious, coy, empathetic – she recalled how she “hugged” a friend’s cocker spaniel that she could sense was dying – and is also a “loving, nurturing, protective mom” to her fellow canine mixed-breed housemate, Frankie.

“My father always would tell us that children who were multicultural got the best of both worlds,” said Gordon-Shulik. “I think it’s the same with dogs that are cross-bred. They get the best out of both worlds.”

Original story link.

A potential new national model for smaller healthcare systems

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Harrington-Heywood alliance a model for health care?

TARYN PLUMB

There's no question that the health care landscape is shifting — for patients, doctors and medical centers, as well as insurers.

As one way to adapt, Harrington HealthCare System in Southbridge and Heywood Hospital in Gardner have formed a partnership that is the first of its kind in the state, and, according to experts and those involved, could serve as a local and national model for community healthcare systems.

The two systems — which together comprise three hospitals, along with outpatient facilities, medical office buildings, physician groups, satellite facilities and free-standing treatment centers — have established a management services organization: Community Healthcare Partners. It will enable the two entities to pool and manage patient care, opening up new opportunities to negotiate contracts with insurers, ultimately lowering costs.

In a statement, Harrington's president and CEO, Edward H. Moore, said Community Healthcare Partners will allow both Harrington and Heywood to share overhead and be more effective in collecting data and evaluating risk-based contracts, "something that larger health-care organizations are able to do on their own."

'Keeping care local'

Mergers, acquisitions and affiliations of larger medical centers are nothing new in health care, but "this is unique in that it's two smaller community hospitals coming together," said Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association. "This will help them in their goal of keeping care local."

Led by CEO Douglas Crapser — formerly Harrington's chief operating officer — the company will develop and provide various services to support population health management strategies, which it says is required by risk-based health insurance contracts, which reward or penalize providers based on patient treatment outcomes.

As explained in a release from Community Healthcare Partners, insurers are increasingly asking health care organizations to establish more efficient health-care models that minimize consumers' cost and link payments with outcomes. The partnership will allow both organizations to "enhance the quality and effectiveness of care at the community level," which includes integrated provider systems.

The company has also been established in such a way as to foster growth through additional partnerships with other community health care systems.

As it moves forward, it will take advantage of a $442,303 grant from the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services to help its development. That money, according to the corporation, will be used to hire staff, evaluate infrastructure resources, enhance quality and performance, and engage and educate the roughly 300 physicians who are part of the joint system. (Despite the boost from one state agency, another, the Health Policy Commission, has requested more information from the two organizations.)

National model?

"This newly formed organization will strategically align both (Harrington and Heywood's) managed-care services and work to help position the two systems as a national model for community partnership and collaboration," Moore said.

Moore's counterpart at Heywood, Winfield Brown, agreed that "we are empowering our joint provider network to optimize their success in the new health care paradigm. By leveraging joint resources, our physicians will be better able to meet emerging accountable care requirements, while providing enhanced wellness-focused, quality services to our patient base."

Nicholas noted the benefit of joint management and expertise, data gathering and quality reporting, as well as the new ability to enter into risk-based and managed-care contracts that either system could not perhaps have done alone. Ultimately, a larger pool of patients minimizes risk — because risks rise with smaller groups — and lowers the overall cost of health care.

"When you are a smaller hospital, it is harder to build that infrastructure on your own," she said. This model keeps "more care local and at a lower cost.”

Will other community-based health systems pursue something similar? Nicholas thinks that could happen.

"I anticipate that this model might attract the interest of other smaller community hospitals of Central or Western Massachusetts," she said, although she noted that she wasn't aware of other collaborations in the works. "The concept behind this is applicable to all hospitals and their physician groups who are trying to do more global payments with private payers and MassHealth." the state-run insurance program for low- and moderate-income residents.
Again stressing the unique model, she said, "This is not a merger or affiliation of hospitals. It's an ideal situation to share resources to benefit the communities of both hospitals."

Original story link.

Experiential; surrealistic; thought-provoking

Out of the Abyss at The Sharpe Gallery

Taryn Plumb

THE SHARPE GALLERY

21 Western Avenue

Kennebunk, Maine

MURRAY EXPLORES NEW DIMENSIONS

Against a scratched and striated, formless blushed blue backdrop, a portal gapes. Bubbles emanate from its black depths, and cascading out of it — yet still intricately linked with it — is a mass of both defined and ghostly shapes, shifting, morphing, blending into one another.

Is it the inner landscape of the mind? Alien? Celestial? A depth of the sea or the core of the earth never plumbed? Entitled “Out of the Abyss Came Sweet- ness,” this work of watercolor and gouache is a prime example of artist Linda Murray’s rich, flowing experiential and surrealistic style that distorts and manipulates reality, dimension, the mind and consciousness.

A lifelong resident of the Kennebec River Valley, Murray — along with several other local artists — currently displays her work at The Sharpe Gallery in Kennebunk’s lower village.

Read the entire article in our magazine pages. Visit Artscope Magazine online. 

Impressive futures await

Fabulous First Years

Posted Sep 9, 2014 in “Students”

Class of 2018 Exemplifies Creativity, Entrepreneurial Spirit

One is so proficient with robotics that he was called upon to assemble a team to fix the Miami police bomb squad’s robot when the city had no funds for the work.

Another is a national table tennis champ of Vietnam.

One has medaled at a prestigious sporting event; one has participated in Revolutionary War reenactments—one can tick off 1,000 digits of Pi.

“It’s always interesting to hear how students are getting involved and making themselves known outside the classroom,” says Dean of Admissions Ed Connor ’92.

WPI students past and present have long been known for their ingenuity, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit – and the incoming class is no exception. Selected from a record 10,233 applicants, the roughly 1,050 incoming students – who began classes on August 28 – not only represent the top echelon of their high school classes, but have achieved a panoply of eclectic personal accomplishments.

Among them are a one-time assistant and interpreter for a U.S. General while on a speaking tour in Vietnam; the representative of India to the 2011 International Spelling Bee in Malaysia, and a helicopter pilot. Three have patents pending—for a blender drill bit, a biodegradable fishhook, and a light-beam delivery system.

Another has already secured a patent—he led a team of three from Gulliver Prep School in Miami in developing an “Eco-Cooker,” a self-sustainable cooking and heating system that uses methane gas derived from the anaerobic decomposition of bio-waste, Connor explained. The project went on to take first place in the energy and environment category in the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge’s Innovation Summit held at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston – a distinction that came with a $10,000 prize and notice from potential investors.

The incoming class is an avidly active group: one is a three-time national bronze medalist for synchronized skating; another is a member of the world’s No. 1 ranked roller hockey team; yet another wrestled in the 2013 Junior Olympic Games. Many more have climbed major mountains or biked across country, and some specialize in Greek, Irish, and tap dance, according to Connor.

“The Class of 2018 is an incredibly talented group of individuals who are eager to make a positive impact,” says Kristin Tichenor, WPI senior vice president.

More fun facts? The most common male name among them is Matthew; the most common female name is Rachel. Forty-one percent are from outside New England (including 12 percent from other countries). And, in a statistically impressive feat, the class is composed of eight sets of twins.

As for their academic interests at WPI? Mechanical engineering is by far the most popular major, Connor says, and biomedical engineering numbers are growing. He also noted a rebound in computer science majors, which had been dropping off—he credits that to the fact that the discipline affords numerous possibilities in any number of fields, such as robotics engineering and interactive media and game development. Plus, there are the major draws of the salary potential and job opportunities.

“Our CS department head will say there are many more jobs for computer science graduates that he has graduates right now,” says Connor.

All told, WPI received the most applications it has in years, following a consistent upward trend and a 54 percent increase over the past five years.

“This was a very competitive year for admission,” says Connor. “Those students who were admitted and enrolled are well-deserving to be here. We have high hopes for their success at WPI academically, but also in terms of their growing as young men and women and making that transition to the next stage of their lives.”

Original story link. 

–BY TARYN PLUMB

An inspiration and a testament to living well

At 82, Newbury’s ‘Biking Grammy’ helps local causes

By Taryn Plumb | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

AUGUST 28, 2014

Photos by Barry Chin/Globe Staff

NEWBURY — On a recent warm August morning, just as Margaret Jerome pulled her blue Jamis bicycle into her driveway, its odometer flipped to 30,000 miles.

It was the culmination of all the rises she has climbed, the hills she has coasted down, and the flat tires she has endured all over the North Shore and elsewhere for the past 14 years.

An inspiration and a testament to aging well, and living well, Jerome does not just tour local rail trails and roadways for her own benefit. For the past few years, she has ridden with a mission, raising thousands of dollars for local causes. As a result, she has become a well-known local figure, referred to more often than not by her nickname, the Biking Grammy.

“I figure I’m doing it anyway, I might as well do it for a good purpose,” said the mother of two and grandmother of four. “And I’ve really enjoyed it.”

On any given pledge ride, Jerome seeks $1 donations for every mile she pedals — tracked by her odometer. That meant raising $3,370 for the Newbury Council on Aging last year to help establish an emergency fund that helps seniors experiencing hardship pay for groceries and utilities.

In 2015, her 15th year as a serious cyclist, her goal is to raise $1,015 for the council’s Greater Newbury elder pet fund, which helps qualifying seniors keep their animals by giving them donations of food and other supplies.

Once she announces a cause, donations come from local businesses and friends, some of whom are from as far away as California, Arizona, and Florida.

“It’s word of mouth,” said the Rockport native, who retired in 2000 from the Newbury Elementary School cafeteria, where she worked for 32 years. “Everybody knows me.”

Everyone who donates to support her rides gets a handwritten thank-you note.

And she has received more than a few thank-you notes of her own as well.

“ ‘Powerful’ is how I describe your commitment to philanthropy and to fund-raising,” Newbury Town Administrator Tracy Blais wrote Jerome following her recent donation to the Council on Aging.

Although a longtime rider — naturally as a child, but in a more dedicated fashion starting in 1977 with her two children — she did not get an odometer until 2000 at age 68. She started to really whir through the miles after her husband, William, died following an illness in 2003.

“I really got into it because I wanted to best use up my time,” she said, seated at the dining room table of her ranch home, various pictures, thank-you letters, and newspaper articles spread out around her.

She set out on her first challenge on a whim in 2004. As she recalled, she was at a local coffee shop, it was New Year’s Eve, and she realized that she had biked exactly 2,000 miles that year.

“I figured ‘I’ll go home and do four more miles,’ ” she said, to finish out 2004 with 2,004.

After that, she started out doing several small fund-raisers, and in 2007 she completed her first big one, raising $2,100 for Anna Jaques Hospital’s continuing education program in memory of her husband, who had several stays there while fighting cancer.

“At 82 years young she has more positive energy and drive to help people, it is truly amazing,” said her daughter, Wendy Lockhart of West Newbury. “I am so proud of her and all that she does.”

Noting that she has no regular route — “I just ride” — Jerome said she will sometimes go to downtown Newburyport and run errands, or cruise along local rail trails. She averages 10 to 17 miles a day, tallying them up diligently in a small logbook, and has kept going despite a hip replacement and two knee surgeries, not to mention a few spills.

So what keeps her going?

In addition to her gratitude to everyone who donates and the support of her family, “I don’t like to just sit and do nothing,” she said. “I’ve always been very active.”

Which is a bit of an understatement.

While a student at Rockport High School, she was a cheerleader and also played basketball and volleyball — the latter of which she continued to participate in into her 40s and 50s. She snowshoes, cross-country skis, kayaks, dances, gardens, and does all her own yard work. She also has an indoor bike, a treadmill, and a skiing machine. She uses those only when she cannot go out on her winter bike, a Bianchi, she said.

Over the years, she has worked as a seamstress, braided nearly a dozen colorful rugs that cover the floors of her home, hunted, fished, dug clams, gone trap- and skeet-shooting, and made dozens of batches of jams and jellies from berries she picked herself. She continues to bake, but gives it all away because “you’ve got to watch the pounds,” she said.

“I guess there isn’t much I haven’t dabbled in,” she said. “I’m very self-motivated, as you can see. I just can’t sit still. I thoroughly enjoy life. I’ve crammed a lot into my 82 years.”

As for the cycling, she has no plans to slow down.

“I used to say ‘I wonder if when I’m 70, I’ll still be riding?’” she recalled. “Now I wonder ‘Will I still be riding when I’m 90?’ ”

Those who know her certainly think so — and then some.

“I am so proud of her tenacity and pursuit of using what she enjoys to help others,” said her son, Bill Jerome of Georgetown. “We hope that she is still riding her bike when she is 100.”

Original story link.

© 2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC

Worcester Business Journal: Increased interest in retail strip centers

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

The strip mall is back

TARYN PLUMB

For several years, Kimco Realty Corp., based in New Hyde Park, N.Y., had been looking to invest in strip malls in New England, and MetroWest in particular.

But there were scarce properties available and fierce competition for the ones that were, according to David Bujnicki, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications.

Finally, in April of this year, the global real estate investment trust closed on a portfolio of 24 properties in New England, which included the $9 million acquisition of Westmeadow Plaza in Westborough.

"It took some time," Bujnicki said. "It was very hard, because there have not been a lot of properties that have traded on a regular basis (in the Boston area). When this portfolio came around, we were thrilled for the opportunity to bid on it."

Over the past several months, a handful of notable strip malls — or "strip centers," as they're called in the industry — have traded hands.

But brokers and investors say there's pent-up demand for even more.

"There are tons of investors who want to buy retail properties in New England," said Nat Heald, senior vice president at CBRE/New England, a commercial real estate company that recently facilitated two local strip center sales. "The only thing that's holding us back from having even more volume is some scarcity of product available for sale."

He noted that the market now is stronger than at its peak, from 2005 to 2007. "There's more demand, more money," he said. And with low yield mostly everywhere else and low mortgage rates, "there's an excellent opportunity for sellers to get top dollar."

And, as some indicate, strip centers may be one of the healthiest retail segments emerging from the Great Recession. A 2014 retail forecast by national commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley found that "the biggest gains over the past year have come from community, neighborhood and strip centers," whose occupancy levels increased more than 27.8 million square feet nationwide through the third quarter of 2013. Yet, they were "hardest hit during the recession," according to the firm's research.

Strip mall acquisitions this year in Central Massachusetts have also included:

• A Hannaford-anchored shopping and professional center in Townsend by national real estate investment group The Federated Companies for $6.25 million;

• Worcester Crossing, anchored by Walmart and Sam's Club, by Dedham-based RK Centers for $49 million;

• Speedway Plaza in Westborough, also by RK Centers, for $18.73 million; and

• The Price Chopper on Cambridge Street in Worcester, by Federated, for $16 million.

Heald was involved with brokering the latter two purchases. The advantages of both are that they're strongly anchored, well established, and well located, he said. That's particularly true of the Speedway Plaza on Route 9, "one of the area's strongest retail corridors," he said.

Ultimately, the "supermarket-anchored strip center is the gold standard for a strip center," said Heald, noting the regular week-in, week-out traffic that smaller tenants in the same vicinity can feed off.

Wanted: Tenants that will stay awhile

And when evaluating properties, tenants are key.

Buyers "want the tenants to be there," Heald said. "The acquisition is subject to the existing leases. They're buying a future cash flow; that's the whole point of the investment."

Bujnicki, of Kimco agreed. "We look for very strong credit-worthy tenants that are recognizable, everyday names," he said.

Overall, in evaluating properties, Kimco focuses on core markets — the top 30 or so metropolitan statistical areas in the country — identifies properties with good growth potential, studies demographics such as population density and household income, and, of course, takes into account a property's selling price.

The publicly-traded company, according to its website, has "interests" in 840 shopping centers, comprising 121 million square feet of leasable space, across 41 states, plus Puerto Rico, Canada, and South America.

But, Bujnicki said of New England, "We really like this particular market. It really is a very strong market. Any way we can continue to concentrate on it, expand within that market, works for us."

Less competition for Westborough site

RK Centers' two recent local acquisitions were similarly tactical. For example, Speedway Plaza in Westborough, which is anchored by a Stop & Shop and a Burlington Coat Factory, was a less competitive property for buyers because of the nearby Wegman's at Northborough Crossing, said Kenneth Fries, RK Centers' director of leasing and acquisitions.

"Fewer buyers means less competition and a higher cap rate," he said, referring to the rate of return on a real estate investment based on the expected income the property will generate. After improving the appearance and visibility of the shopping center, he said, the company will evaluate that impact on sales, and "hopefully add some more tenants." "There are a number of them looking in the market, and we're hoping to put them in there," he said.

The purchase of Worcester Crossing on Route 146, meanwhile, was simply a "good addition" to the company's portfolio, a "long-term hold" with few vacancies and a "good place to stick money," he said.

RK also owns a Price Chopper-anchored property on Greenwood Street in Worcester, as well as sites in Bellingham, Hudson, Marlborough, and the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury.

Still, Fries noted, "New England has a high barrier to entry. You just don't have shopping centers like you do in Florida. Because you can't put them where you want, it makes the ones that are up more valuable."

Original story link. 

A meeting of experts and proteges alike in a growing field

World Congress

Posted on Sep 2, 2014 in “Faculty”

Billiar, WPI provide a presence at recent World Congress of Biomechanics

• While studying mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at Cornell University, Professor Kris Billiar came across a course on biomechanics, and was fascinated by the concept.

“I loved to tinker with machines and such,” he says, “but I thought the body was the coolest machine, because it could actually change in response to what you do.”

Biomechanics, which employs the principles of mechanics to study biological problems, is a wide-ranging and growing field, spanning all the way from the molecular level to full organisms – humans, animals, and plants alike.

Every four years, the leaders in the field and upcoming protégés get together to discuss new developments, research, challenges, and opportunities as part of the World Congress of Biomechanics, held this year in July at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center.

Billiar, a professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, served as a liaison for ASME, helping organize numerous sessions.

The seventh annual, six-day event brought together engineers, biologists, mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, chemists, and scientists with various clinical specialties to study everything from basic biology to the latest technological advancements in more than 400 different sessions.

Because of its location and the growing interest in the field, it attracted 4,000-plus attendees from at least 50 countries, Billiar says, calling it “by far the largest biomechanics conference ever.”

In the past, the World Congress has been held in California and cities around the world, typically drawing around 2,000 participants. The next is scheduled to be held in 2018 in Dublin.

Because of its proximity to Worcester, many WPI professors, students, and even local middle school teachers had the opportunity to participate, he says.

“WPI was there in force, all the way from undergraduates and teachers to graduate students and professors, who were organizers, session chairs, presenters, and volunteers,” says Billiar. “We took full advantage of it.

“I’m most proud that many students from around the country participating in our National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program and local middle school teachers participating in our NSF-funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program were able to attend the conference,” he adds. “It’s quite an experience to attend an international conference of this scale and see all of the amazing research being presented!”

RANGE OF TOPICS

At any given time during the event, he says, there were 20 parallel sessions taking place on a range of topics, with tracks of talks organized by scale from the whole body, to tissues and cells, and even at the molecular level. Speakers discussed topics ranging from the biomechanics of injuries, to pediatric cardiology, to ligaments and tendons, gait, plaque vulnerability, motor control, reproductive health, dental mechanics, tissue engineering, cell forces, and how swimmers generate and use flow.

Meanwhile, larger plenary sessions featured more than a dozen respected names in the field, including Dennis Discher from the University of Pennsylvania, Farshid Guilak from Duke University, and Melody Swartz from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Billiar, himself, led sessions on research he’s doing at WPI on mechanobiology, which he says is an emerging field at the intersection of biomechanics and cell biology.

In his tissue mechanics and mechanobiology lab, which he established in 2002, WPI students and faculty members investigate the influence of the local mechanical environment – such as stiffness, deformation, and various forces – on development, growth and healing of soft connective tissue.

“It’s understanding how a cell, or even molecules, work by pulling and pushing them, putting them in soft and stiff environments, and analyzing the cell’s behavior computationally,” he explains.

As he predicts, there’s going to be a “new phase” of personalized medical care that will also include mechanical medicines that can modify cells’ behavior and sensitivity to existing treatments. “There’s a growing understanding that the mechanical environment modifies how cells actually behave,” he says. “If we can understand how and why cells respond to their mechanical surroundings, we can start controlling for that, and create much more effective treatments.”

- BY TARYN PLUMB

Original story link.