Axel R. Pries, MD

Axel R. Pries, MD
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, CCM
Head, Institute of Physiology

Institute for Physiology

12 Researchers

Teaching, research on Microcirculation / Endothelium / Tumor / Space and Environmental Medicine / Lung-Physiology / Bioinformatics

Interests

Microcirculation / Organ perfusion / Endothelial function / Endothelial surface / Vascular adaptation / Angiogenesis / Tumor microcirculation / Blood rheology

Techniques

Intravital microscopy, computer simulation

Project: ESR 1.2 Modelling of flow under normal and pathological conditions

Understanding hemodynamics and vascular adaptation in the retinal microcirculation under physiological and pathological conditions.The research project focusses on developing analytical models for the simulation of blood flow and structural vascular adaptation in the microcirculation of the retina under normal and pathological conditions based on anatomical data from the segmentation of imaging data). In silico models of microvascular blood flow are used. The physiological and pathological adaptation processes are investigated with special emphasis on perfusion and supply heterogeneity and maldistribution of perfusion.

This PhD project entails a number of components in this context: a) a pipeline from imaging and segmentation to generation network structures which can be used as input for mathematical model simulations will be established (here, data from different tissues may be used depending on experimental availability), b) hemodynamic models adapted to the specific anatomical situation will be established using approaches from the host lab at the Charité, c) effects of vascular adaptation and components for diffusive and convective exchange with the tissue will be integrated, d) functional network characteristics (hemodynamics and exchange) and the impact of pathological changes of vascular anatomy will be assessed.

Direct collaborators: University Lincoln for the segmentation of the entire retinal vasculature from imaging data.

Major 5 Publications

A.R. Pries, M. Hoepfner, F. Le Noble, M.W. Dewhirst, T.W. Secomb. The shunt problem: control of functional shunting in normal and tumour vasculature. Nat Rev Cancer 10:587-93 (2010).

A.R. Pries, A.J Cornelissen, A.A. Sloot, M. Hinkeldey, M.R. Dreher, M. Hopfner, T.W. Secomb. Structural adaptation and heterogeneity of normal and tumor microvascular networks. PLoS Comput Biol 5(5):e1000394 (2009).

A.R. Pries, T.W. Secomb. Origins of heterogeneity in tissue perfusion and metabolism. Cardiovasc. Res. 81: 328-335 (2009).

A.R. Pries, T.W. Secomb. Blood flow in microvascular networks. Handbook of Physiology, Cardiovascular System Vol. IV, Part 2 (W. Duran, K. Ley, R.F. Tuma, Eds.), American Physiological Society (2008).

A.R. Pries, B. Reglin, T.W. Secomb: Remodeling of blood vessels: Responses of diameter and wall thickness to hemodynamic and metabolic stimuli. Hypertension 46: 725-731 (2005)