Dr. Ramaswamy, associate professor in BME, was awarded the FIU Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Activities (Fall 2017). At a separate award ceremony during the same semester, he was also awarded the 2016-2017 Excellence in Research award by the College of Engineering and Computing at FIU. Dr. Ramaswamy’s research interests lie primarily in the area of cell and engineered tissue mechanics with application in cardiovascular regenerative medicine. His laboratory, Tissue Engineered Mechanics, Imaging and Materials, (TEMIM LAB), conducts both experimental and computational investigations in this area. A major goal of his lab currently is to develop functional tissue engineered heart valves (TEHVs) using 1) porcine small intestinal submucosa (PSIS) substrates and 2) mechanically regulate stem cells for the TEHV application as well as for (3) broader application in cardiovascular regenerative medicine. Concurrently the TEMIM lab is also working towards the elucidation of mechanobiological cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in the etiology of valve diseases, particularly aortic valve calcification. A specific project in this area involves (4) the delineation of mechanosensitive fluid and structural conditions of the aortic valve due to elastin remodeling that may serve as an early indicator of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Dr. Ramaswamy is a Fellow of the American Heart Association and its Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences. Dr. Ramaswamy is an author of over 50 published journals papers, book chapters and conference proceedings and has been a part of over 100 abstracts presented at Scientific Conferences. He has mentored over 40 graduate/undergraduate students at FIU in a one-to-one format. His research has been supported by the AHA, NSF as well as academic and industry partners.
Congratulations Dr. Ramaswamy on your accomplishments!
