Prof. Christine Helms
Department of Physics
University of Richmond

Abstract

Blood clots are comprised of many elements including, red blood cells, platelets, and fibrin fibers. Fibrin fibers form a mesh, scaffold-like network that provides mechanical strength to the clot. Due to their small size the study of individual fibrin fibers can be difficult. However, over the past decade much progress has been made in understanding fiber mechanics along with the mechanism responsible for their mechanical properties. 

Bio

Christine Helms, Ph.D., is an associate professor of physics and chair of the Physics Department at the University of Richmond. Her primary research interest is in understanding the mechanics of biomaterials and their relevance to medicine. She is particularly interested in force detection by lateral force AFM, optimization and understanding the mechanical properties of electrospun fibers, and understanding the mechanisms responsible for blood clot mechanics. After graduating from the University of Mary Washington, she completed her Ph.D. and postdoc at Wake Forest University.