Mark your calendars for the next UW ADRC Seminar Series: Mon, March 13.
Presenter: Mehmet Kurt, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UW
Meeting ID: 955 0564 9876
Passcode: 949545
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Abstract:
The human brain is the continuous subject of extensive investigation aimed at understanding its behavior and function. Despite an overwhelming interest and major research initiatives on how our brain operates, comparatively little is known about how it functions at the mechanical level. Recent findings have directly linked major brain development, mechanisms, and diseases to the mechanical response of the brain both at the cellular and tissue levels. Despite clear evidence that mechanical factors play an important role in regulating brain activity, current research efforts primarily focus on biochemical or electrophysiological activity, largely due to the difficulty of probing the brain directly.
In this talk, I will present how a combination of novel computational and imaging methods can provide insights into brain biomechanics. I will introduce novel neuroimaging tools that can measure and track brain motion within the skull, even during physiological processes. Combined with computational modeling and advanced system identification tools, these approaches provide important insights into the spatiotemporal mechanics of the human brain. I will demonstrate how studying the motion of the brain in vivo opens up a number of important clinical applications, enabling earlier diagnosis and intervention of brain pathologies such as traumatic brain injury, hydrocephalus, Chiari Malformation, Alzheimer’s disease, and other degenerative diseases.
Bio:
Prof. Mehmet Kurt is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. He also holds an adjunct faculty position at the Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His primary research area of interest is brain biomechanics and neuromechanics imaging. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014 on developing novel nonlinear system identification methods. He was a postdoctoral scholar in the Departments of Bioengineering and Radiology at Stanford University from 2014-2017. His awards include NSF CAREER Award (2022), Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 list in Turkey (2021), Provost’s Early Career Award for Research Excellence (2020), NSF Vizzies Best Scientific Visualization Award, People's Choice (2018), Annals of Biomedical Engineering "Editor's Choice Award" (2017), Thrasher Research Foundation Early Career Award (2015), and the Thomas Bernard Hall Prize for the Best Paper of the Year (2011). His research has been highlighted in various media outlets such as Reuters, Newsweek, CBS News, and Washington Post. His research group is currently sponsored by multiple grants from NSF, NIH, and DoD.
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Friday, August 28, 2026
at 12:00pm
AD@UW is a monthly 90-minute meeting for ADRD research trainees and investigators, intended to provide a basic understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as well as research resources available through the UW ADRC.
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Friday, September 25, 2026
at 12:00pm
AD@UW is a monthly 90-minute meeting for ADRD research trainees and investigators, intended to provide a basic understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as well as research resources available through the UW ADRC.
Friday, May 22, 2026 at 12:00pm
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Friday, June 26, 2026 at 12:00pm
AD@UW is a monthly 90-minute meeting for ADRD research trainees and investigators, intended to provide a basic understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as well as research resources available through the UW ADRC.
Friday, July 24, 2026 at 12:00pm
AD@UW is a monthly 90-minute meeting for ADRD research trainees and investigators, intended to provide a basic understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as well as research resources available through the UW ADRC.
Friday, August 28, 2026 at 12:00pm
AD@UW is a monthly 90-minute meeting for ADRD research trainees and investigators, intended to provide a basic understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as well as research resources available through the UW ADRC.
Friday, September 25, 2026 at 12:00pm
AD@UW is a monthly 90-minute meeting for ADRD research trainees and investigators, intended to provide a basic understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias as well as research resources available through the UW ADRC.